OREANDA-NEWS. Toyota Tsusho Corporation announces that it has concluded a basic agreement to subscribe to a third-party allocation by Republic of Kazakhstan agricultural holding company Koktem EA and acquire a 20% stake in the company. Toyota Tsusho will also be dispatching a director and a manager. This marks the first entry by Toyota Tsusho, or by any major Japanese trading company, into Kazakhstan's agricultural industry.

Kazakhstan boasts a fertile grain belt rich in chernozem covering some 24 million hectares (roughly equal to five times Japan's growing region). The industry suffers from an over-reliance on wheat and barley as well as extensive farming methods dependent on good rainfalls. As a result, annual yield is unstable. The Kazakhstan government in 2013 formulated "Agrobusiness 2020" as its vision to diversify production into non-wheat crops.

Since its launch in 2007, Koktem EA has undertaken large-scale farming of a diverse range of crops, from wheat to oilseed crops and vegetables. The company farms land tracts in northern Kazakhstan.

Toyota Tsusho's investment in Koktem EA and its entry into the local agricultural industry will promote stable crop production and improve productivity through the introduction of reforms in cultivation method, production management, crop storage, and sales processes. Harvested grains and vegetables will be sold in Kazakhstan beginning this autumn.

Toyota Tsusho has positioned Kazakhstan as a priority emerging country. This investment will contribute to ensuring stable food supplies in the country and promote the accumulation of large-scale agricultural production and business management know-how which can support the large-scale farming business needs of the future.