News Updates KAZAKHSTAN AND IRAN Iran reportedly is very interested in importing grain from Kazakhstan and will build grain elevators to handle the Kazakh grain. There was also talk that Iran will be used as a conduit for Kazakh grain to other countries in the region, with Kazakh grain coming down the Caspian Sea to Iranian ports and then cross-country in Iran to export ports close to the Middle East.  This certainly looks like a reasonable alternative to shipping out of the Black Sea, where -- one assumes -- transit times to the Middle East or Asia would be longer and freight costs higher.The Kazakh government has suggested that it might change the current grain export subsidies to a truck leasing program that would supply t...