Kazakhstan’s oilseed industry has achieved a breakthrough.
2026/06/04
According to statistics from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade, the country’s oil and fat production and exports reached record highs in 2025: output exceeded 1.57 million tons, and foreign-exchange earnings from exports totaled US$963 million—four times the level recorded in 2021. As reported by APK News, the government described these figures as a breakthrough for the oil and fat sector.
The Ministry of Trade reported: “The oil and fat industry has become one of the key drivers of Kazakhstan’s economic growth and non-resource exports. By the end of 2025, it is expected to account for 27% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings from processed agricultural exports.”
In 2025, sunflower oil production will have increased 2.3-fold compared to 2021, exceeding 752,000 tonnes. Over the past four years (2022–2025), the share of imported sunflower oil has declined by half on average, now accounting for no more than 18% of total production. By comparison, from 2015 to 2021, imports represented an average of 39% of total sunflower oil consumption.
The ministry noted that the sector’s growth is driving diversification of cultivation areas and further advancements in processing technologies.
“Strong demand from oil‑processing plants and high profit margins in oilseed production are driving an expansion of planted acreage across the country. At the same time, companies are steadily increasing their processing capacity, with new processing projects under implementation. This is helping to strengthen food security, stabilize domestic market prices, develop related industries—poultry farming, livestock breeding, feed processing, and food manufacturing—and consolidate Kazakhstan’s position as a reliable global supplier of high‑quality processed products,” the Ministry of Trade noted.
Thanks to increased oil production and the export of surplus output at higher international prices, the oilseed industry has maintained stable domestic wholesale sunflower oil prices for more than three consecutive years. This measure has been crucial in curbing inflation and reducing the share of imports. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, from May 2023 to December 31, 2025, the global vegetable oil price index rose by 39%, while sunflower oil prices on European exchanges increased by 47%. Meanwhile, in Kazakhstan, under a memorandum signed by the National Academy of Oilseed Processing and Mineral Resources (NAPMC), the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the domestic wholesale price of sunflower oil remained capped at no more than 730 tenge per liter during the same period. In February 2026, the NAPMC signed a new memorandum on stabilizing sunflower oil prices, valid through the end of 2026.
Kazakhstan’s oil and fat products are exported to more than 20 countries worldwide. The main importing countries include China, the Central Asian states, EU member states (Latvia, Estonia, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden), as well as Norway, Afghanistan, and Iran.
As of 2025, Kazakhstan ranks sixth globally in sunflower oil exports and second in the Chinese market.
Over the past two years, Kazakhstan has become the leading supplier of vegetable oil to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, capturing more than 90% of the market share. In addition, Kazakhstan fully meets the Central Asian region’s demand for sunflower meal and ranks among the top three suppliers of sunflower meal to the European Union.
To fully unlock export potential, the National Association of Plant Oil Processors (NAPMC) has developed the “2026–2028 Roadmap for the Development of Oil and Fat Product Exports.” Drawing on processes, methodologies, and technical assistance provided by the International Trade Centre, and supported organizationally by the Kazakhstan Trade Promotion Agency (QazTrade), the roadmap is part of the EU‑funded project “Ready4Trade Central Asia: Path to Prosperity through the Trans‑Caspian Transport Corridor.” If the roadmap’s target indicators are achieved, foreign exchange earnings could increase by 60% by 2028, surpassing US$1.5 billion, and Kazakhstan would firmly secure its position among the world’s top four sunflower oil suppliers—its primary goal being to move into the top three.
As part of this initiative, Kazakhstan is actively expanding its sales markets and improving its logistics. In 2026, the Port of Aktau completed its first transshipment of vegetable oil. With the support of Kazakhstan’s national transport company, JSC NC KTZ, sunflower meal began to be piloted for shipment to China via the Dostyk–Alashankou border crossing, transported in grain‑carrying trucks. Furthermore, in the autumn of 2025, for the first time in the country’s history, 40-foot flexitanks were used to ship sunflower oil from East Kazakhstan Region to Jiangsu Province in China. The cargo took 12 days to travel 4,700 kilometers, demonstrating the efficiency and convenience of containerized transport.
