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Agriculture

Kazakhstan to Increase Grain Processing Nearly Tenfold by 2028

Kazakhstan plans to increase its deep grain processing capacity nearly tenfold by 2028, as part of a broader strategy to shift from raw material exports to the production of high value-added agricultural products. The initiative includes five major investment projects for wheat and corn processing, with a combined annual capacity of 4.8 million tons of grain. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the projects will be located across the northern, southern, and central regions of the country and are expected to become a cornerstone of Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial transformation. These priorities were outlined during the fourth meeting of the National Kurultai in March 2024, where President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the need for industrial diversification and greater economic resilience. Currently, Kazakhstan processes just over 510,000 tons of grain annually in the deep processing segment. The country has three specialized enterprises that produce starch, gluten, molasses, bioethanol, and other high value-added products. The five new projects are expected to attract $2.6 billion in investment and create approximately 3,300 jobs. Key developments include a wheat processing plant with a capacity of 415,000 tons per year in the Kostanay region; corn processing enterprises in the Turkestan and Zhambyl regions; and new production facilities in Astana and Akmola region focusing on starch, gluten, bioethanol, and amino acids. A significant share of these products will be exported to the U.S., Europe, China, India, the Eurasian Economic Union member states, the Middle East, and Africa. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan harvested a record crop of grains and oilseeds in 2024, providing the raw material base for this upcoming industrial expansion.

Bilateral Trade

Kazakhstan and Iran Discuss Trade on Pezeshkian’s Visit to Astana

Kazakhstan and Iran have announced plans to significantly deepen economic cooperation, aiming to triple bilateral trade turnover to $1 billion in the coming years. The announcement was made by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during the Kazakh-Iranian business forum, held as part of the official visit of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Astana. According to Tokayev, mutual trade exceeded $340 million last year and is expected to “increase many times over” in 2024. The two countries have set an initial target of reaching $1 billion in trade, with an eventual goal of $2 billion, relying on expanded logistics and the establishment of sustainable supply chains. A key mechanism will be the opening of the Kazakhstan Trade House in Tehran, intended to facilitate systematic exports of Kazakhstani products. Over the past two decades, Iran has invested more than $226 million in Kazakhstan’s economy, and more than 350 Iranian companies currently operate in the country. Tokayev emphasized Kazakhstan’s readiness to initiate new joint projects across sectors ranging from industry to agribusiness. Strengthening corridors and access to the Persian Gulf Tokayev highlighted the development of transport and logistics infrastructure as a primary enabler of increased trade. Kazakhstan, he noted, is a vital transit hub in Eurasia, with 85% of cargo between China and Europe passing through its territory. Astana plans to construct a transport and logistics terminal at the port of Shahid Rajai, linking Kazakhstan’s ports of Aktau and Kuryk with the Iranian ports of Amirabad and Anzali. The Kazakh side also expressed readiness to integrate the ports of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar into the regional supply chain. The Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway plays a central role in these plans. Traffic volumes along this corridor are expected to double by 2030, delivering a substantial boost to regional trade and industrial development. Key market for Kazakh grain Iran remains a key buyer of Kazakh grain. In the first 10 months of 2024 alone, exports reached $280 million. Total agricultural trade between the two countries stood at $220 million in 2023, underscoring the sector’s growth potential. Iran’s Solico Group plans to build a dairy plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 tons and launch baby food production. Meanwhile, Kourosh Food Industry is exploring opportunities to establish vegetable oil plants and poultry farms. Kazakhstan, in turn, is inviting Iranian investors to participate in modern manufacturing projects and develop export-oriented supply chains. A shared challenge: the declining Caspian Sea The environmental situation in the Caspian region was another key topic of discussion. Falling sea levels are already affecting port operations, logistics, and fish stocks. Tokayev called for the creation of an intergovernmental program to preserve the Caspian Sea and urged greater involvement from international organizations. Kazakhstan intends to take part in the upcoming VII Caspian Summit in Tehran and has proposed hosting the IV Caspian Economic Forum within the next two years. Pezeshkian noted that the private sector has already identified promising areas for collaboration from the creation of a joint shipping consortium on the Caspian to the development of...

Agriculture

Kazakhstan Expands Grain Exports to Europe and Beyond

Kazakhstan is entering new grain export markets, including the United Kingdom, Norway, and Portugal, as part of a broader push to diversify its agricultural trade, Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov has announced. Saparov reported that the 2025 harvest has been one of the strongest in recent years, with 27.1 million tons of grain crops harvested from 16 million hectares. The average yield reached 17 centners per hectare, and wheat production totaled 20.3 million tons, an increase of 500,000 tons compared to last year. “We plan to maintain the level of wheat exports. This year, we have begun supplying markets that have not traditionally received Kazakh grain, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, as well as Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt in North Africa. Additionally, we have resumed shipments to Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia,” Saparov said. Kazakhstan exported 13.4 million tons of grain during the last marketing year (September 1, 2024, August 31, 2025), a 47% increase compared to the 2023-2024 season. As of the latest data, 2.2 million tons of grain from the new harvest have already been exported, marking a 21% year-on-year increase. New Investments in Deep Grain Processing To support long-term export potential and value-added production, Kazakhstan is implementing five major investment projects aimed at deep grain processing. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, these initiatives will enable the additional processing of approximately 2.5 million tons of grain products annually. Among the most significant is a $1.5 billion investment by China’s Hopefull Grain & Oil Group to build a deep grain processing plant in the Akmola region. The project was discussed by Deputy Minister Yermek Kenzhehanuly and Hopefull’s local project manager, Yao Yao. The project will be rolled out in two phases. The first phase includes constructing a combined heat and power plant to generate renewable energy. The second phase will launch a high-tech facility to produce citric acid, glucose-fructose syrups, bioethanol, and protein concentrates. The company is also considering establishing an industrial park equipped with transport, energy, and engineering infrastructure. Focus on the Chinese Market As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan also aims to increase grain exports to China to two million tons per year. This expansion into Asia complements the country’s growing presence in European and Middle Eastern markets.

Grain export

Kazakhstan to Maintain Grain Exports in 2025 to 2026 Season

Kazakhstan plans to maintain grain exports above 12 million tons in the 2025–2026 marketing season, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov said at a recent briefing. Grain exports for the current 2024–2025 season reached a record 13.4 million tons, according to Sultanov. “Taking into account this year’s harvest, we forecast that next year’s exports will not fall below last year’s level, that is, more than 12 million tons,” he said. To date, 15.6 million hectares, 88.6% of the total planted area, have been harvested, yielding an average of 16.9 centners per hectare and producing 26.6 million tons of grain. This output will fully meet domestic needs for food, fodder, and seeds, while reinforcing Kazakhstan’s position in its traditional export markets. Wheat has been harvested from 12 million hectares, 99% of the cultivated area, at a yield of 16.5 centners per hectare, resulting in approximately 20 million tons. Barley and oats produced 2.4 million tons, and corn yielded 852,000 tons. Sultanov also noted that Kazakhstan has re-entered several previously lost markets, including Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, where demand for Kazakh wheat is on the rise. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has increased its imports of Kazakh wheat eightfold. Licensed grain receiving enterprises have already received 6.7 million tons from the new harvest, twice the volume recorded at the same time last year. As part of efforts to diversify crop production, special attention has been given to legumes and oilseeds. This year’s legume harvest reached 1 million tons, and the country expects a record oilseed yield of about 4 million tons, of which 3.3 million tons have already been collected. Potatoes have been harvested from 99 percent of the planted area, totaling 130,000 hectares and producing 2.9 million tons. Sultanov said this volume should prevent the shortages and price surges experienced earlier this year. The vegetable harvest totaled 3.9 million tons, while melon crops reached 2.6 million tons.

Grain export

Kazakhstan Aims to Boost Grain Exports to China to Two Million Tons Annually

Kazakhstan plans to increase its grain exports to China to two million tons per year in the coming years, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced at the eighth meeting of the Kazakhstan-China Business Council in Beijing. “Kazakhstan has the sixth-largest area of arable land in the world and ranks among the top ten grain exporters globally. Our country exports over ten million tons of wheat and approximately two million tons of flour each year. The Chinese market is of great interest to us, and Kazakhstan possesses the resources and capacity to export up to two million tons of grain to China annually,” Tokayev stated. According to Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the national railway operator, grain exports to China reached 1.7 million tons in 2023. Strengthening Agro-Industrial Cooperation Beyond raw grain exports, Astana places significant emphasis on developing joint processing enterprises. Tokayev highlighted ongoing projects by China’s Dalian Group, which is establishing a grain processing plant in the Akmola Region, and the Fufeng Group, which is developing a corn processing facility in the Zhambyl Region. Products from both plants are intended for the Chinese and European markets. The president also invited Chinese investors to collaborate in the sectors of organic farming and livestock breeding. Expanding Transport Corridors Tokayev underscored the strategic importance of enhancing transport and logistics corridors as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, noting that 85% of all land freight between China and Europe currently transits through Kazakhstan. The opening of a second track on the Dostyk-Moyinty rail section this year is expected to increase the capacity of the China-Europe corridor fivefold. The president also emphasized the rising significance of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor. In 2023, freight volume along the TITR reached 4.5 million tons, an increase of 62% compared to 2022. Kazakhstan aims to raise this volume to ten million tons in the near future. “Through joint efforts, we have already implemented major infrastructure projects, the Kazakh-Chinese logistics terminal at the port of Lianyungang and the dry port in Xi’an. For Chinese companies, leveraging Kazakhstan’s transit potential opens up significant opportunities,” Tokayev said. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that Kazakhstan and China have also begun digitizing customs declaration procedures for transit cargoes along the TITR, aiming to reduce delays at border crossings.

Agriculture

Kazakhstan Ships Grain to Europe via Estonian Port

Kazakhstan is expanding its grain exports to European markets, with significant shipments routed through Estonia’s Muuga port. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Akmola region, the country’s top grain-producing area, exported 145,000 tons of wheat through Muuga during the first seven months of 2025. Of this volume, more than 110,000 tons were delivered to Italy, over 28,000 tons to Belgium, and approximately 6,500 tons to Estonia. The shipments followed a memorandum of cooperation signed in February 2025 between the Akmola regional administration and the Muuga Grain Terminal. A key milestone of Kazakhstan’s 2024-2025 export season has been the diversification of grain destinations. For the first time, Kazakh wheat was exported to Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Norway, and the United Kingdom. From September 2024 to August 10, 2025, Kazakhstan exported 9.8 million tons of wheat from the new harvest, a 55% increase compared to the same period in the 2023-2024 season. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, and Azerbaijan remain the country’s primary buyers. Including flour, Kazakhstan exported a total of 12.4 million tons of wheat grain between September 2024 and July 2025, marking a 34% rise from the 9.3 million tons exported during the same period in the previous season.