Draft order on a temporary halt to table potato imports published for comment
After a record harvest of about 210,000 tonnes, the ministry proposes to stop imports of table potatoes until 1 March 2027. Comments are open until 30 October.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources has published a draft order that would suspend imports of table potatoes into the Irad Special Economic Zone until 1 March 2027. Seed potatoes are exempt.
This autumn's harvest in the Chu and Talas valleys is the largest on record, at about 210,000 tonnes. The restriction is intended to give growers room to sell their crop while cellars are full, and would be reviewed if retail prices rose.
“The harvest is large enough to cover the table all winter, and we want to be sure that imported tubers do not crowd out our growers while the cellars are full,” said Pavel Gorbunov, deputy head of the ministry's crop production department.
Growers' associations, traders and hauliers are invited to send written comments until 30 October 2026. The final decision will be announced through the Department of Public Information.
Related documents: draft-mnr-2026-potatoes