Global Trade - The Times Of Central Asia

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Meat Exports

Kazakhstan Meat Exports Surge in 2025

Kazakh meat producers surpassed their total 2024 export figures within the first 10 months of 2025, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. In 2024, Kazakhstan boosted exports of processed beef by 1.4 times to more than 22,000 tons, and lamb by 2.2 times to 18,000 tons. These milestones were exceeded in 2025. Between January and October, beef exports rose 1.7 times year-on-year to reach 30,200 tons, while lamb exports increased 1.9 times to 25,500 tons. “This growth is due to high demand for high-quality Kazakh meat from foreign partners,” the ministry stated. In 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture implemented several measures aimed at expanding export markets and strengthening Kazakhstan’s presence in the global meat trade. Negotiations with seven countries resulted in the signing of 16 veterinary certificates. New export channels were opened for a range of products, including: Milk, beef, lamb, poultry, honey, and fish to Azerbaijan Live cattle to Mongolia Animal feed to Morocco Hides and wool of ungulates to Iran Additionally, the European Union opened its market to Kazakhstani beekeeping products. Efforts are also underway to expand exports to 12 more countries, including Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, the UAE, Jordan, and Pakistan. Discussions are ongoing with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Hong Kong regarding potential exports of dairy products, feed, and honey. The ministry highlighted veterinary welfare as a cornerstone of Kazakhstan’s export strategy. A nationwide modernization program is currently in progress: 400 new veterinary stations have been constructed and 890 units of specialized equipment and machinery procured. A key development is the opening of a modern veterinary laboratory in East Kazakhstan, supported by China. This facility will help unlock exports of livestock products, including cattle hides, poultry meat, and by-products, to the Chinese market. Required protocols have been signed, and Kazakh enterprises have already passed the necessary inspections. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan is also preparing to enter the Turkish market, where Kazakh beef prices could be roughly double those in China.

Middle Corridor

How to Harness Momentum Along the Middle Corridor: Interoperability on the New Silk Road

When most people think of the “Silk Road,” they picture a single camel train inching across a tan horizon, blue-white porcelain strapped beside bolts of silk. That fairytale, however romantic, was never true. Medieval Eurasia operated on multiple, overlapping, and improvised routes, often seasonal. And frankly, for a Westerner at the far end, it scarcely mattered how the goods got there, only that they did. Then, oceanic shortcuts and the Americas rewired global trade; two world wars shattered old geographies, and the Iron Curtain sealed Central Asia into a blank space on Western mental maps. Now, the region is reopening on its own terms, and supply chains are being redrawn in real time. Suddenly, the term “Middle Corridor” has become trendy. The Caspian Policy Center held its 3rd Trans-Caspian Connectivity Conference in London in July this year, focusing on the theme “Harnessing the Momentum, Building on the Synergies.” The title itself implies a recognition of some “momentum” and some “synergies.” A couple of months after the London conference, I spoke by phone with David Moran, a former UK ambassador with extensive experience in the region, to ask him about what he thinks of the whole “New Silk Road” idea. His point is refreshingly unsentimental: stop imagining a line and start thinking of it as a web of interconnected channels. In practice, that means folding energy, digital, finance, and steel into a single operating picture so capital shows up on better terms; widening the frame from C5+1 to a Central Asia–South Caucasus–Turkey logic that actually matches how goods and electrons move; and fixing bottlenecks that are more about governance than concrete. We talked about quiet levers: insurance that prices climate risk properly, a digital spine that makes rail and the Caspian behave like one network, and the long-cycle drivers that turn logistics into strategy. Compound those gains, and pretty soon you’ve built something you no longer have to call “alternative.” “Alternative” lets officials kick decisions into next year; “strategy” forces sequencing, standards in definitions, and capital discipline today. It also resets expectations: this is not a clever detour around trouble, it is the backbone of a regional growth story that European lenders might just actually know how to price. Seen that way, the geography snaps into focus. On the Caspian, Aktau and Kuryk on one shore and Baku on the other form the hinge, while the BTK railway and Kazakhstan’s Altynkol–Zhetygen pull weight inland. Atyrau is the western Kazakh air node that connects workers, parts and schedules to the Caucasus, the Gulf, and Europe. Thread through the rest: Black Sea power interconnect ideas, subsea data routes, the hydrocarbon pipes already in place. Put it together and you have a web with redundancy, optionality, and recognisable standards built in. If there’s one real shift, it’s moving from projects to an operating plan. Moran puts it cleanly: “Go for a fully integrated regional connectivity strategy -- energy, digital, finance, infrastructure -- rather than working through sectoral initiatives separately.” Integration isn’t a slogan; it’s how you...

Rare Earth Elements

Kazakhstan’s Emerging Role in Global Rare-Earth Supply Chains

October 10 was one of the most consequential days for global trade policy and one of the most volatile for world markets since the U.S.–China tariff conflict first reignited. After China announced tighter export controls on rare earths, U.S. President Donald J. Trump first posted on Truth Social that “there seems to be no reason” anymore for him to meet with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in two weeks' time. Several hours later, the official White House account on X posted a message from Trump that he had learned that "effective November 1st, 2025, [China will] impose large-scale Export Controls [sic] on virtually every product they make, and some not even made by them." He then followed with the declaration that the U.S. will impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports starting November 1, "or sooner," and launch export controls on critical software. As Washington and Beijing escalate their economic confrontation, the scramble for stable rare-earth supply chains has broadened beyond East Asia. Attention is shifting to Central Asia, where mineral potential and trade corridors align with the broader effort to reduce dependence on China. Kazakhstan has drawn particular attention, not as a single solution, but as a state seeking to leverage its Soviet-era industrial base and access to the Caspian to help meet emerging supply chain needs. Although Kazakhstan has made the most progress in translating its mineral reserves into a functioning mining industry, it remains part of a broader regional effort to diversify away from a single external partner, most notably China. Other Central Asian states are testing their own capabilities to meet global supply chain demands, though most remain constrained by infrastructure, financing, or lack of processing capability. Kazakhstan’s Position in the Emerging Supply Realignment On reserves, Kazakhstan’s rare-earth potential is rooted as much in continuity as it is in discovery. Decades of geological mapping under Soviet administration established its mineral profile, and recent joint surveys by Kazgeology and private firms have both confirmed and expanded those earlier findings. New delineated deposits in the east and center of the country, including the Zhana Kazakhstan site in Karagandy, have reinforced its status as a prospective non-Chinese source of critical materials, with verified concentrations of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, and samarium. If current resource estimates are validated, the Zhana Kazakhstan deposit could rank among the largest rare-earth reserves in the world. These elements are essential inputs for high-efficiency magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and advanced defense systems. The U.S. Department of Defense classifies these rare earths as “critical defense materials,” a designation that underscores their strategic relevance rather than any immediate shift in supply. Both the Pentagon and the Defense Logistics Agency have begun increasing stockpiles and exploring alternative processing sources, but for now, the question in Kazakhstan is not geological endowment, which is established, but the terms under which that endowment can be brought to market. On processing capacity, Kazakhstan’s experience in large-scale mining of uranium, copper, and other critical minerals has...

U.S. Tariffs

Kazakhstan–U.S. Tariff Question Indexes a Broader Geopolitical Pattern

When the United States announced a 25% tariff on selected imports from Kazakhstan, effective August 1, it offered little explanation beyond a vague appeal to restoring the trade balance. At first glance, this seemed routine, indeed almost perfunctory. However, the timing, context, and symbolic weight of the move suggest otherwise. Kazakhstan’s exports to the U.S. are modest, and key commodities are unaffected, yet the signal was received clearly in Astana. What the Tariff Means in the Broader Picture In the current phase of the international system's evolution, tariffs no longer function solely as instruments of commercial redress. They have become vectors of strategic pressure, deployed to influence positions in a broader geopolitical context. From this perspective, Kazakhstan appears less as a trade partner than as a node within a larger and shifting strategic-connectivity network. To interpret the tariff imposed by the United States on Kazakhstan as a bilateral irritant would be to miss its deeper significance. The target may be marginal in economic scale, but the symbolism is central. What is at stake is not merely the movement of goods, but the movement of expectations. What is at issue is how middle powers such as Kazakhstan read global cues and signal their response. The tariff is a point of entry into an evolving geoeconomic pattern. Kazakhstan's answer to the American move thus becomes an exercise in managing uncertainty under shifting rules. Astana has moved quickly by dispatching a delegation, issuing public reassurances, and subtly shifting its narrative. This is not a crisis for Kazakhstan, but it is not something that can be ignored either. What seems to have triggered the tariff is not the trade volume, but the context. Kazakhstan’s longstanding ties with both Russia and China have complicated its attempts to preserve its autonomous balance in a tightening global field. The U.S. move may be part of a wider American effort to pressure states seen as too hesitant or too exposed. Kazakhstan's early response is thus less a tactical correction than a move to preempt misunderstanding. Background: A Cascade of Tariff Announcements The tariff targeting Kazakhstan came at the end of a months-long sequence of trade announcements that began to accelerate in early 2025; it was not an isolated action. On April 2, under the now-familiar slogan of restoring reciprocity, the Trump administration unveiled a broad tariff package affecting more than 180 countries at a base level of 10%. Russia and Belarus were notably untouched, but Kazakhstan was singled out for a rate of 27%. No one could quite justify why, and Washington did not seem interested in explaining the move. On July 7, Astana received a second notice: a revised tariff, now fixed at 25%, would take effect on August 1. This replaced the earlier measure and applied to a more specific set of goods. Without mentioning Kazakhstan by name, President Trump followed with a comment on social media about restoring “balanced flows” and correcting “distortions.” More than twenty other countries — an eclectic list including Brazil,...

Global Trade

Transit Ambitions: Kazakhstan Emerges as Key Link Between East and West

Kazakhstan is poised to enhance its role as a pivotal transit hub between China and Europe amid evolving global logistics dynamics, according to a recent analysis by Energyprom.kz. China’s Role in Global Logistics China remains the world’s largest exporter, shipping approximately 4.5 billion tons of goods annually, with 60-70% transported via maritime routes. More than one-third of global container traffic passes through Chinese ports and transit centers. However, rising geopolitical tensions and sanctions have prompted Beijing to diversify its logistics options and reduce reliance on sea routes. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which primarily traverses Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus, plays a crucial role in this strategy. Land routes offer shorter delivery times, typically 10-12 days compared to 30 days by sea. Alternatives bypassing Russia, such as the corridor through Kazakhstan, Iran, and Turkey, are also gaining prominence. Kazakhstan’s Transit Potential Kazakhstan’s strategic location enables it to serve as a vital conduit in global transport flows. The modern incarnation of the Silk Road has transformed the country into a linchpin for trade between East and West. Developing transit corridors not only boosts the national economy but also improves socio-economic conditions in border and underdeveloped regions by creating jobs and attracting investment. Over the past 15 years, Kazakhstan has invested more than 10 trillion tenge in transit infrastructure, generating approximately 600,000 jobs. In 2023, transit cargo volumes reached 30 million tons, exceeding the target of 27.7 million tons set in the national development strategy, “Concept for the Development of the Transport and Logistics Potential of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030.” The strategy aims to increase total transit volume to 35 million tons by 2030, including 2 million TEU in container traffic. Growth in Transport Service Exports Kazakhstan’s expanding logistics capabilities are translating into increased exports of transport services. In 2024, rail freight exports totaled US$1.3 billion, up 2.1% from the previous year. Road freight exports surged by 19.6% to US$665.7 million, while sea freight rose by 47.2% to US$64.7 million. Pipeline service exports also grew by 7.1%, despite a 1.6% decline compared to 2019 levels. Innovation and Digitalization in Logistics To cement its global position, Kazakhstan is investing in a smart economy by incorporating innovation and digital solutions into its logistics framework. This includes automation, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and the creation of integrated digital logistics hubs. One such initiative is the Alatau Special Economic Zone (SEZ), an innovation center designed to enhance the country’s transit ecosystem. According to the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), the transport and logistics sector’s contribution to GDP could rise from 6.2% in 2022 to 9% by 2025. Link to AIFC report This digital transformation promises not only to reduce operational costs but also to generate thousands of high-skilled jobs, an essential component of Kazakhstan’s path to sustainable economic growth.