Frozen and spoiled: Kazakhstan officials may face legal action over the damaged potatoes.

According to information from the television channel, a scandal is brewing in the Turkestan region: potatoes are freezing and starting to rot in the wagons for entrepreneurs. Currently, 43 wagons filled to the brim with potatoes are standing at the Saryagash station.

It is reported that in mid-January, entrepreneurs sold the potatoes to Uzbekistan, and the freight train was dispatched to the buyer. According to them, it was stopped at the border for a phytosanitary inspection. The business owners claim that the vegetables were held there for more than 10 days, during which the potatoes froze and spoiled.

"Look, it has rotted. Water is already flowing, it all leaked out! First, it froze, then thawed, and that's it. There are 68 tons in one wagon. But it's already unfit for consumption!" - shared entrepreneur Azamat Serikbaev.

According to the sellers, such potatoes cannot even be used as animal feed. They do not understand why the cargo was held for so long. All documents were processed in mid-January, even before the export ban was announced.

"The akimat asked us to sell this potato for 100-150 tenge. Although it is now worth at least 300 tenge per kilo. I don't know what to do next. All the losses are now on my shoulders. I lost 60 million tenge from three wagons!" - stated entrepreneur Nursultan Ormanov.

The Ministry of Agriculture assures that the wagons with the vegetable cargo underwent the required inspection. They found no obstacles to their further movement.

"As of today, according to my information, the inspection work has been completed. The necessary information has been identified. Currently, there are no obstacles or barriers to the further movement of the wagons. Therefore, the 43 export-oriented wagons can cross the border." - said Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerbol Taszhurekov.

The entrepreneurs themselves noted that such a delayed permit is of no use to them now. Representatives of five suffering companies stated their intention to sue the officials.

Source: KTK

It is worth mentioning that on January 28, a decree from the Ministry of Agriculture came into effect in Kazakhstan, banning the export of potatoes from Kazakhstan. The ban does not apply to EAEU countries.

Additionally, it should be noted that recently, Kazakhstan has experienced a tense situation regarding potato prices. On January 19, a decision was made to limit potato exports to third countries for six months due to a sharp increase in vegetable prices.

After that, the Deputy Chairman of the Trade Committee of the Ministry of Trade and Integration, Ernur Zhautykbaev, commented on the situation with potato prices, which had skyrocketed, and discussed the possibility of prices rising to 500 tenge.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Trade announced a decrease in potato prices in Kazakhstan. According to the agency, the average price per kilogram is 322 tenge. However, as journalists from NUR.KZ learned, potatoes in Kazakhstan increased in price by 8.3% within just a week. Year-on-year, the price increase reached 57.8%. To find out which region experienced the highest price rise, click here.

In Astana, temporary restrictions were also imposed on potato sales - they were distributed at 5 kg per person. However, recently the akimat of the capital announced that the restrictions have been lifted.

Moreover, the akimat of Almaty reported that there is no shortage of potatoes or hype surrounding them in the metropolis.