Kazakhstan does not experience a shortage in grain carriers for export, the number of grain wagons on the railway network of Kazakhstan fully covers the needs of the export potential, Kazinform news agency writes with reference to the statement of the national carrier JSC NC "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy" (KTZ). "If some time ago, 3-5 years ago, the issue of providing Kazakh farmers with a grain fleet was quite acute, then the measures taken to increase the capacity of the specialized Kazakh fleet of grain wagons allowed solving the problem. Today, the market is represented by a number of participants," the report says.

In particular, under the management of a subsidiary of KTZ - JSC "Kaztemirtrans" - there are 4.7 thousand grain carriers. In its own fleet of JSC "Astyk Trans" - a joint venture of JSC "Kaztemirtrans" and the Russian CJSC "Rusagrotrans" - there are 3 thousand units of grain wagons. The private fleet of grain wagons, primarily owned by Kazakhstani owners, as well as those operating on the national network of communication routes of the CIS and Baltic states, is estimated at 700 units per day, most of which provide transit transportation through Kazakhstan.

According to the press service of KTZ, as of September, there are 8.0-8.5 thousand units of grain wagons of various technical modifications and standard models in operational management on the KTZ network. It is also noted that for the transportation of grain, in addition to grain carriers, covered wagons are attracted / packed in bagged containers or in bulk/. As previously reported by TASS, the harvest of grain crops in Kazakhstan this year is projected to amount to 17.5 million tons. "We forecast the harvest at the level of 17.5 million tons, respectively, our export potential will be about 7 million tons. This is slightly higher than the average long-term indicators," said the Minister of Agriculture of the republic Asylzhan Mamytbekov. He also noted that grain exports are planned to be carried out "to the traditional markets of the republic."

The main importing regions are the Middle East and Central Asia, which account for up to 70% of the volume. Since the beginning of 2015, out of almost 2.6 million tons of Kazakh grain exported by rail, 61% has been exported to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. More than 20% of export traffic accounts for grain traffic in the direction of Russia and China. Kazakhstan has direct access to the countries of Central Asia both by land by rail and by sea (through the Aktau seaport).