Kazakhstan is looking at utilizing the capacity of the Beineu terminal to boost its grain and flour exports to Afghanistan, this was known during a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin and First Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of Afghanistan Abdul Ghani Baradar, Kazinform News Agency cites primeminister.kz.
Kazakhstan is among top 10 trade partners of Afghanistan. Your country is a traditional importer of Kazakhstani grain and flour. I want to assure you that Kazakhstan was and will be a reliable supplier of these goods to the Afghan market, said Zhumangarin.
Located in Mangistau region, the Beineu terminal has direct access to the Kazakh-Turkmen border. The terminal boasts all necessary production facilities. It can serve as an onshore transshipment storage terminal to further transport production for export.
The terminal allows for shipment of up to 100 thousand tons of grain, 12 thousand tons of flour and up to three thousand tons of mixed fodder in a month.
In addition, Kazakhstan has the capacity to transit Kazakhstani goods to South Asia via its own land port in Xi’an, China, which handles 40% of all the container trains going to Kazakhstan from China.
There is also the Kazakh-Chinese termina in the Lianyungang port, where two container trains are sent in the direction of Kazakhstan each day.
So, Kazakhstan suggested Afghanistan sending goods from China using its territory in the direction of the west as well as Pakistan and India in case the Trans-Afghan railways are built.
The Kazakh side also proposed to diversify supplies of Chinese products to Afghanistan through Kazakhstan across the route China-Kazakhstan (Aktau) – Turkmenistan-Afghanistan (Towrgondi/Andkhoy).
It was suggested to use the terminal in Xi’an, China, with the delivery period of around 10-12 days by container trains from Xi’an/Ürümqi to Afghanistan (Towrgondi/Andkhoy), according to Kazakhstani specialists.