The non-resource sector maintains momentum: GDP growth over the first 8 months amounted to 4.1%

At a meeting of the Economic Growth Headquarters chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin, the country's economic development results for the past eight months were reviewed.

As noted, economic growth continues to be driven primarily by the robust performance of the non-resource sector. Manufacturing increased production by 8.4%. The highest growth rates were recorded in mechanical engineering (21.2%), food production (12.9%), chemicals (27.3%), construction materials (7%), finished metal products (33.3%), rubber and plastic products (+18.5%), light industry (+70.4%), and pharmaceuticals (38.9%). Overall, industrial production increased by 2.6%. Significant growth was also noted in construction (15.6%), transportation and warehousing (7.3%), trade (6%), agriculture (5.2%), and communications (4.4%).

The headquarters meeting examined in detail the situation in the main manufacturing sectors. In metallurgy, as is well known, enterprises are currently operating at 90-100% capacity utilization. Despite the high utilization, production in ferrous metallurgy grew by 2% due to increased iron and steel production.

In mechanical engineering, growth for the first eight months was 21.2%. This strong performance was driven, in part, by the automotive industry (+27.7%), which includes the production of passenger cars, buses, trucks, and special-purpose vehicles. In rolling stock production, while the output of passenger cars and flatcars increased significantly, the production of freight gondola cars and locomotives was declining.

Serik Zhumangarin ordered a separate meeting to thoroughly examine the reasons for the decline and identify opportunities to maintain the growth rate of mechanical engineering.

"Metallurgy accounts for over 40% of the manufacturing industry. Therefore, growth rates in metallurgy are particularly important for the growth of manufacturing. It's equally important to maintain momentum in mechanical engineering, the second-largest industry in manufacturing. We will be paying close attention to these areas until the end of the year," emphasized Serik Zhumangarin.

Agriculture has seen strong growth for the third month in a row: 5.2% over the eight months (5% for January-July, 4.4% for January-June). This growth is largely due to seasonal factors—the peak of the harvesting campaign and the arrival of the new crop. Food production also recorded significant growth, up 12.9%.

The oil and gas industry is seeing a gradual recovery in oil production. The volume index (VI) for the eight months was 91.6%, with 61.7 million tons of oil produced, compared to 91.1% and 53.2 million tons in January-July 2026. The adjusted oil production forecast for 2026 is 96 million tons, corresponding to the volume index (VI) of 91.6%.