In 2026, Kazakhstan will build three new oilseed processing plants.
2025/12/25
According to Aliya Rakhimova, a spokesperson for the Kazakh government, Kazakhstan will begin operating three new refineries in 2026.
According to the Kazakhstan News Agency ( APK News) According to reports, Rakhimova stated that these vegetable oil plants will be located in East Kazakhstan Region, Abai Region, and Turkestan Region, respectively. On her Facebook page, Rakhimova noted that Kazakhstan’s oil and fat industry today “serves as a prime example of government policies and production moving forward in tandem toward the same goal, rather than operating independently.” As a result, Kazakhstan—a country that was once a major importer of vegetable oils—has now risen to become one of the world’s top ten exporters of vegetable oils. Last year, Kazakhstan’s exports of sunflower meal to the European Union surged to third place, and the country now fully supplies sunflower meal and cake to the Central Asian region. Kazakhstan’s new goal is to become one of the world’s three leading suppliers of vegetable oils and to boost its export revenues to $1 billion by 2027.
Expected by In 2025, sales will reach $840 million, nearly double the figure for 2024.
Global demand for sunflower oil continues to grow: As living standards improve, consumers are increasingly choosing sunflower oil over palm oil or soybean oil. In addition, demand for sunflower meal and sunflower cake—used as animal feed—is also growing rapidly.
The government representative also pointed out that the country is expanding the area dedicated to oilseed cultivation, which has doubled in recent years to 3.9 million hectares. This year alone, the North Kazakhstan region has already reached 1 million hectares of oilseed crops, and the Akmola region has also reached 500,000 hectares. To date, 4.7 million tons of oilseeds have been harvested, including 2.3 million tons of sunflower seeds.
The scale of cultivation will continue to expand, and we plan to increase the cultivated area to... 5 million hectares. “Nearly 85% of the sunflower seeds grown nationwide are processed domestically, and the volume of such processing is growing rapidly.” “This year, production increased by 18.7% (reaching 807,000 tons over the first 11 months). Next year, three new vegetable oil plants will be built in East Kazakhstan Region, Abai Region, and Turkestan Region. Following the practice of successful enterprises, we will then move on to more advanced processing, including the production of margarine and other fats and oils,” Alia Rakhimova said.
Therefore, in a relatively short period of time, the oil and fat industry has already transitioned from a stage of raw-material-based expansion to a stage of large-scale processing and export. Alia Rakhimova emphasized that this marks the beginning of a new era in which the country is poised to enhance its position in the high-value-added export market.
