Kazakhstan considers building grain terminals in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan to export its grain to the Persian Gulf countries, Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov said at Monday's Cabinet meeting.
"We are going to finish the construction of the railway [to Iran’s Persian Gulf coast]. After that our grain will become a competitive commodity in this region. The Arabic countries are interested in our grain, so we should consider building grain terminals in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan," Masimov said.
"Our strategy is to enter new markets. The grain prices are always fluctuating and we need to enter the new markets for long. We have to work out logistical issues to be able to export our grain in 2012," he said.
The international railway New Ozen-Gyzylgai-Bereket-Etrek-Gurgen (Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran), which will later be joined to the European and Asian railways through Russia, will be the shortest and most convenient route to the Persian Gulf. The construction is to be completed by the end of 2011. Initially, the railway is expected to transport 3-5 million tons of cargoes a year, which will grow to 10-12 million tons in the future. The total length of the railway, which will run from the Kazakh steppes through the Karakum deserts to the Gulistan province in northern Iran, will be 900 kilometers.
