ALMATY (Interfax-Kazakhstan) — Kazakhstan’s quotas for exports of flour and wheat during the peak of coronavirus pandemic hurt the countries of Central Asia, WB Senior Agricultural Economist Sergiy Zorya said.

Last April, Kazakhstan, one of the world’s biggest shippers of wheat flour, introduced a ban on the export of the following goods: buckwheat; white sugar; potatoes; onions, shallots, garlic and other onion vegetables, fresh or chilled; sunflower seeds, whether or not crushed; sunflower oil; buckwheat.

Some nations are adding to their strategic reserves. China, the biggest rice grower and consumer, pledged to buy more than ever before from its domestic harvest, even though the government already holds massive stockpiles of rice and wheat, enough for one year of consumption.