Kazakhstan Plans to Boost Agricultural Exports to Serbia
Kazakhstan plans to expand agricultural exports to Serbia, as discussed at the fourth meeting of the Kazakh-Serbian Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) held in Almaty late last week. Co-chair of the IGC, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin, said agriculture is one of the most promising areas of bilateral cooperation, along with healthcare, tourism, science, biotechnology, education, and culture. In the first half of 2025, trade in agricultural products between the two countries rose 1.5 times, reaching $4 million. Kazakhstan aims to increase supplies of grains and legumes, vegetable oils, fish, meat, and dairy products. Deputy Minister of Agriculture Yermek Kenzhehanuly noted that the European Commission has approved requirements for the export of Kazakh fish products to EU countries, with 20 enterprises now authorized to supply pike perch fillets and other fish. In February, Kazakhstan also received permission to export honey to the European Union, and four major producers are ready to begin shipments. Work is ongoing to open access to the EU market for aquaculture products and horse meat. Kazakhstan has proposed joint investment projects in the processing of livestock and crop products. Scientific cooperation was also identified as a promising area, including training specialists in breeding and seed production, conducting field trials of grain, oilseed, and vegetable crops across various regions, plant hybridization, and producing biopesticides. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, food production in Kazakhstan has grown 1.4 times over the past three years, from KZT 2.3 trillion ($4.2 billion) in 2021 to KZT 3.3 trillion ($6.1 billion) in 2024. In the first half of 2025, gross agricultural output totaled KZT 1.8 trillion ($3.3 billion), 3.7% higher than the same period last year. Food production rose by 10%, while beverage production increased by 5%. Exports of agricultural products grew 1.3 times, from $3.8 billion to $5.1 billion. Investments in fixed assets in agriculture increased 1.2 times to KZT 919 billion ($1.7 billion), while investments in food production rose from KZT 118.3 billion to KZT 180.3 billion (from $220 million to $333 million). Labor productivity in the sector reached KZT 5 million ($9,200) per employee, up from KZT 3.4 million ($6,300) in 2021. State support has led to a doubling of fertilizer use from 626,000 tons to 1.3 million tons, an increase in the renewal rate of agricultural machinery from 4.3% to 5.5%, a 1.38-fold rise in the yield of grain and legumes from 11.0 to 15.2 cwt/ha, a 1.82-fold increase in land cultivated with water-saving technologies to 470,100 hectares, a 10% rise in cattle numbers to 4.3 million head, and a 17.3% increase in small ruminants to 11.6 million head. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, in January, Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov met with Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut in Moscow to discuss lifting restrictions on the import and transit of agricultural products and boosting Kazakh food exports to Russia.
