ASTANA (WNAM MONITORING): For the first time, Kazakhstan has entered the top 10 largest exporters of sunflower oil worldwide, taking eighth place in 2024, as was announced during a May 15 roundtable dedicated to developing the export potential of the oil and fat industry, reported the Trade and Integration Ministry.
Oilseed market
Kazakhstan has also become one of the top three suppliers of sunflower meal to the European Union, a key livestock feed in high demand in dozens of countries.
Over the past three years, sunflower oil production in the country has increased by 2.5 times, exports by 4.8 times, while imports of packaged oil have decreased by 11%.
Revenue from the export of oils, meal, and press cake reached $562 million last season. Kazakhstan now targets annual export revenues of $1 billion in the near future. Such growth is underpinned by a gradual shift in crop production priorities from wheat to more profitable oilseeds, primarily sunflower.
Kazakhstan currently exports sunflower oil to Central Asian countries and China, and plans to expand into Middle Eastern markets.
The roundtable also marked the start of developing a 2025-2027 export Roadmap for the oilseed industry, aimed at strengthening Kazakhstan’s position in international markets.
Grain exports
Kazakhstan is enhancing its position as a major grain exporter as well. From September 2024 to April 2025, the country exported nearly 10 million tons of grain and flour in grain equivalent, up 37.4% from the previous season.
Annual shipment volumes average approximately 7-8 million tons. Thanks to a record harvest last year, annual export capacity could reach 12 million tons by the end of 2025.
According to Vice Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov, the season’s main achievement was the expansion into non-traditional markets.
“After a five-year break, grain deliveries to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye have resumed. Shipments of durum wheat to Italy are growing. Today, Kazakhstan is entering European markets that are not typical for us such as Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Purchasers from Morocco and the United Arab Emirates are also showing interest in our grain,” he said.
By the end of May, Kazakhstan will complete the first 60,000 tons of wheat shipment to Morocco. A 15,000-ton trial batch of grain is set for export to Vietnam.
Meanwhile, traditional markets continue to show strong demand. Central Asia, Afghanistan, Türkiye, and China have significantly boosted their imports of Kazakh grain and flour. For the first time in the last five years, Kazakhstan has restored grain shipments to Iran and Azerbaijan, increasing supplies tenfold.
China is particularly interested in plant products, especially Kazakh feed flour. From September to April, grain and flour exports to China totaled 1.8 million tons, 27% more than last year.
