Iran’s Solico Group to Build Major Cheese Plant in Kazakhstan

Iranian food conglomerate Solico Group will build a large cheese production plant in Kazakhstan’s Almaty region, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to expand value-added agricultural processing. Kazakhstan's Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov and Solico Group President Gholam Ali Soleimani signed the investment agreement for the project, which will focus on deep milk processing and industrial-scale cheese production. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 155,000 tons of cheese, with total investment estimated at 35.2 billion tenge, or roughly $70 million, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture. Construction work has already begun at the site in the Almaty region, and the plant is expected to be completed and commissioned in 2029. Saparov said attracting strategic investors into agricultural processing remains one of Kazakhstan’s key economic priorities. “President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has tasked the government with increasing the share of processed agricultural products and developing industries with higher added value,” Saparov said. “Kazakhstan’s dairy sector has significant growth potential. In 2025, domestic production of cheese and cottage cheese increased by 13.1%. This project will significantly expand the country’s processing capacity and create a guaranteed market for local milk producers.” He added that the government was ready to provide comprehensive support for investors in priority sectors of the economy. Soleimani described Kazakhstan as a promising regional hub for food production and said the company was considering additional investments beyond the cheese factory. “We view Kazakhstan not just as a site for a single project, but as a long-term strategic partner. The country has strong agricultural potential, a favorable geographic location, and an attractive investment climate. Alongside the cheese plant, we are also exploring projects in potato processing and baby food production.” The agreement includes a broad package of state incentives, including the provision of engineering infrastructure for the production site. Under the terms of the agreement, Solico Group will create at least 400 permanent jobs, provide training for Kazakhstani specialists, and transfer modern industrial technologies and expertise. The company also plans to allocate about 50 million tenge annually from 2028 to 2038 for social initiatives and support for local communities in the Almaty region. The agreement adds to a series of recent Kazakhstan-Iran trade initiatives. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Astana and Tehran said late last year that they aimed to triple bilateral trade to $1 billion in the coming years. Although some joint Kazakhstan-Iran projects were frozen earlier this year because of military conflict in Iran, economic cooperation appears to be recovering. In May 2026, Kazakhstani vegetable oil producers opened a new export route to Iran via the Caspian Sea.

Chinese Investors Build New Agriculture Plants in Kazakhstan

On September 25, Chinese investors launched two major agro-industrial projects in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl region. FM World Agricultural Machinery, a Chinese company, began construction of an agricultural machinery assembly plant in the industrial zone of Taraz, the regional capital. The facility is expected to produce up to 2,000 units of equipment annually, including eight types of tractors, rice and cotton harvesters, trailed implements, and seeders. On the same day, Zhongkai Guoyuan (Anhui) Industrial Investment Co. broke ground on a sugar plant with a $200 million investment in the Zhambyl region. The facility will process up to 1 million tons of sugar beets per year, producing between 80,000 and 130,000 tons of sugar. The output is expected to fully meet Kazakhstan’s domestic demand and support exports to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, and China. Another project in the region involves Hualing Group Co. Ltd., which plans to build an irrigation systems plant with an annual capacity of 200 sprinklers. Agriculture has become a key focus in Kazakhstan–China economic cooperation. Speaking at the 8th meeting of the Kazakh–Chinese Business Council in Beijing on September 2, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev highlighted Kazakhstan’s interest in joint agricultural processing and invited Chinese investors to support the production of organic and high-quality livestock products.