"Kazakhstan to Export Wheat, Barley to Iran Annually

Kazakhstan plans to increase its annual wheat exports to Iran to 2 million tonnes and barley exports to 1 million tonnes, according to a press release from the Kazakh Agriculture Ministry.

Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov announced the republic's plans to increase grain exports to Iran during a meeting with Iranian Ambassador Ali Akbar Jokar, The Caspian Post reports citing Interfax.

"Our goal is to continue expanding bilateral agricultural trade. A key priority for us is to increase grain supplies to Iran. Over the past decade, Kazakhstan has exported over 9 million tonnes of grain, including wheat and barley, to your market. We can increase the export of wheat to 2 million tonnes and barley to 1 million tonnes annually," the minister is quoted as saying.

The ministry told Interfax that Kazakhstan exported 803,000 tonnes of grain to Iran from September 2024 to April 6, 2025.

The Iranian ambassador said that his country was interested in strengthening agricultural cooperation and boosting mutual trade with Kazakhstan.

"We aim to deepen collaboration with Kazakhstan, particularly in agriculture. Expanding mutual supplies, increasing grain imports, and establishing joint ventures are key priorities for our country," Jokar said.

The Kazakh minister said that Kazakhstan was ready to support all proposed initiatives.

Both sides agreed to continue enhancing partnership within the Kazakh-Iranian working group.

Agricultural trade between the two countries grew 2.5-fold year-on-year in January-February to $72.4 million. Key exports from Kazakhstan included barley, oilseed meal, cattle and sheep meat, vegetable oils, corn, vegetables and legumes.

Kazakhstan has previously said it is ready to increase exports to Iran. Kazakhstan harvested more than 26 million tonnes of grain in 2024. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said local exporters were ready to meet Iran's demand for grain products, including wheat, barley and oilseeds.