Kazakhstan's Fat-and-Oil Breakthrough: The Path to Becoming a Top-3 Global Exporter

Kazakhstan's Fat-and-Oil Breakthrough: The Path to Becoming a Top-3 Global Exporter

On June 5, the Fifth Anniversary International Fats and Oils Conference «FOC 2026: Fats and Oils Conference» will be held in Astana.

The event is organized by the National Association of Oilseed Processors (NAOP) with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and JSC "QazTrade" Center for Trade Policy Development.

The event will be attended by over 330 delegates. These include heads of more than 50 domestic oilseed processing plants, representatives of relevant ministries, financial institutions, agro-holdings, importers of fats and oils products, suppliers of equipment for storage and processing of oilseeds, logistics companies, and analytical agencies. Among them are the International Trade Centre, FAO, UN, EBRD, Wilmar, Bunge, Kourosh Food Industry, LAF Technology, Syon Technology, Huatai, Chinese Cereals and Oils Association, China Vegetable Oil Industry Association, and others. The participant geography includes: the USA, China, European countries, Baltic states, Central Asia, the Middle East, and other countries interested in cooperation with Kazakhstan in the agro-industrial sector (representatives from 18 countries have confirmed participation).

Over 5 years, the forum has become an important dialogue and business platform for participants in the fats and oils market. The event discusses systemic challenges, market trends, planned developments in agriculture and trade, and hosts B2B negotiations.

Venue: Hilton Astana Hotel, 14 Heydar Aliyev Street. 

Participant Registration Time: from 08:45 to 10:00.

Event Opening – 10:00.

Media Accreditation Coordinator: +7 701 749 0200 (Assel).

Key Points:

Thanks to government support aimed at developing the agro-industrial complex, the production and export of fats and oils products in Kazakhstan reached a historic high by the end of 2025: production volume exceeded 1.57 million tons, and export revenue amounted to $963 million USD, which is 4 times higher than the 2021 figure ($240 million).

The fats and oils sector has become one of the main drivers of economic growth and non-commodity exports in Kazakhstan. By the end of 2025, the industry provided 27% of the country's export revenue from processed agricultural products.

Sunflower oil production in 2025 increased 2.3 times compared to 2021 and surpassed the mark of 752 thousand tons. The average share of sunflower oil imports over the last four years (2022-2025) decreased by half and currently does not exceed 18% of total production. For comparison, from 2015 to 2021, the average share of sunflower oil imports was at 39%.

The growth of the industry stimulates the diversification of cultivated areas and further development of processing. Active demand from oilseed processing plants and high profitability of oilseed production contribute to the expansion of cultivation areas in the country's regions. Alongside this, the production capacities of enterprises are increasing, and projects for deep processing products are being implemented. This helps strengthen food security, stabilize prices in the domestic market, develop related industries — poultry farming, livestock farming, feed and food industries — and strengthen Kazakhstan's position in the global market as a reliable supplier of high-quality processed products.

Thanks to increased oil production and the sale of surplus for export at higher world prices, the fats and oils industry has managed to ensure the stability of wholesale sunflower oil prices in the domestic market for over three years. This measure is key to curbing inflation and reducing the share of imports. For example, according to FAO data, from May 2023 to December 31, 2025, the global vegetable oil price index rose by 39%, and sunflower oil on European exchanges became 47% more expensive. Meanwhile, in Kazakhstan during the same period, the wholesale price of sunflower oil for the domestic market from processing plants, according to the memorandum between NAOP, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, did not exceed 730 tenge per liter. In February 2026, NAOP signed a new memorandum on stabilizing sunflower oil prices, which is valid until the end of 2026.

Kazakhstani fats and oils products are sold in markets of over 20 countries worldwide. Among the main importers are China, Central Asian countries, and the European Union (Latvia, Estonia, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden), as well as Norway, Afghanistan, and Iran. By the end of 2025, Kazakhstan ranks 6th in the world in sunflower oil exports, and 2nd in the Chinese market. Over the past two years, the country has become the leader in supplying vegetable oils to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan with a share of over 90%. Alongside this, the republic fully supplies Central Asia with sunflower meal and is among the TOP-3 suppliers of this product to the European Union

To realize export potential, NAOP has developed a Roadmap for the Development of Fats and Oils Exports for 2026–2028  years using the processes, methodology, and technical assistance of the International Trade Centre (ITC) and organizational support from QazTrade within the project "Ready4Trade Central Asia: Path to Prosperity through the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor," funded by the European Union. Upon achieving the target indicators of the Roadmap as early as 2028, export revenue could increase by 60% and exceed 1.5 billion US dollars, and Kazakhstan will firmly establish itself among the top four largest global suppliers of sunflower oil (the main goal is to enter the TOP-3).

As part of this initiative, active work is underway to expand sales markets and improve logistics. In 2026, vegetable oil transshipment to a vessel was carried out for the first time at the port of Aktau. With the support of JSC "NC "KTZ", trial shipments of granulated sunflower meal in grain wagons via the Dostyk–Alashankou border crossing in the direction of China have begun. Furthermore, in the autumn of 2025, for the first time in the country's history, sunflower oil was shipped in 40-foot containers with flexitanks from the East Kazakhstan Region to China's Jiangsu Province. The cargo covered 4700 kilometers in 12 days, confirming the high speed of container transportation.