Uzbekistan’s oil-processing plants are operating at less than 40% capacity.
2026/05/06
According to agricultural consultancy APK-Inform, the Central Asian Vegetable Oil Producers Association reports that Uzbekistan’s annual oilseed processing capacity is approximately 4.5 million tonnes, yet more than half of this capacity remains underutilized.
According to official data, the overall capacity utilization rate does not exceed 37%, which presents an opportunity to accelerate industry growth by strengthening raw material procurement and improving efficiency.
The association believes: “By making more efficient use of existing production lines, Uzbekistan has all the necessary preconditions to achieve substantial growth and consolidate its position in the oil and fat products market.”
Currently, Uzbekistan has 85 large oil and fat enterprises.
In Central Asia, Kazakhstan is also developing oilseed processing, with a capacity of approximately Production stands at 5.3 million tonnes, with a utilization rate of approximately 64%, and there are plans to further expand capacity by an additional 1 million tonnes. At the same time, Uzbek entrepreneurs are actively participating in regional investment projects, strengthening economic ties and creating more development opportunities.
Representatives of the Russian Oil and Fat Union previously noted that at the end of last year, the utilization rate of processing capacity was 78%, down from 90% the previous year. The projected raw-material shortfall for this year is expected to reach 2.5 million tonnes. Russia is employing high tariffs and export-quota policies to “force” domestic oil-extraction capacity to operate at higher utilization rates. For instance, Russian agricultural giants such as Sodruzhestvo are increasing the share of soybean oil and rapeseed oil exported to China in order to improve plant efficiency. Despite ample overall processing capacity, uneven raw-material distribution and high transportation costs continue to make real-world extraction margins and capacity utilization highly sensitive to market fluctuations.
