Kazakhstan to boost corn plantings in northern regionsKazakhstan plans to significantly expand areas under corn in the northern regions to ensure its supply to processing plants in the south of the country, the Agriculture Ministry told Interfax-Kazakhstan.The government has instructed that corn plantings in Akmola, North Kazakhstan and Kostanay regions be increased by an average of 15,000 hectares each.Corn areas currently stand at about 1,300 hectares in Akmola region, 3,600 hectares in Kostanay region and 2,800 hectares in North Kazakhstan region.The ministry said the expansion is needed to supply feedstock to Fufeng Group industrial park in Zhambyl region and KazKrakhmal LLP-owned starch syrup plant in Turkestan region, as southern regions cannot fully meet demand for feedstock.To support the northern regions, the National Agricultural Research and Education Center and the Crop Variety Testing Commission will provide methodological and technological assistance in selecting varieties and introducing adapted cultivation technologies.As reported, Chinese corn processor Fufeng Group began construction of an industrial park in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl region in 2025. The $800 million project will have a design processing capacity of 1 million tonnes of corn a year and is expected to become one of the largest in the country’s agro-industrial sector.KazKrakhmal LLP is building a corn processing plant in Turkestan region with capacity to process 150,000 tonnes of corn grain a year. The project cost is 31 billion tenge.As part of crop diversification, Kazakhstan’s plantings are expected to increase by 42,900 hectares in 2026 to 217,500 hectares. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX