The volume of vegetable oil exports from Kazakhstan at the end of 2024 amounted to 582.1 thousand tonnes, which is 12% more than in 2023.
“The products are in high demand in the PRC, where the share of exports takes 42.4% of total exports, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia and Turkmenistan,” - reported in the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan on March 18.
The Ministry of Agriculture also noted that to increase the export potential of processed products Kazakhstan continues to develop cooperation with China. Signed protocols of sanitary and phytosanitary requirements open additional opportunities for exports of processed products of oilseeds.
As specified, in 2024 the area of oilseeds was brought to 2.9 mln hectares. The largest areas of oilseed crops are concentrated in such regions as North Kazakhstan (23.3% of the total area of crops), Kostanay (23%), Pavlodar (12.5%), Abay (10.2%), Akmola (9.2%) and East Kazakhstan (7.7%) regions.
The harvest of oilseeds amounted to 3.3 mln tonnes, 53% more than in 2023 (2.1 mln tonnes). Of this volume, 1.8 mln tonnes was sunflower.
In Kazakhstan, there are 88 enterprises with a processing capacity of about 4 mln tonnes of raw materials per year. They are mainly concentrated in East Kazakhstan, North Kazakhstan and Abay regions.
In 2024, Kazakhstan produced 753 thousand tonnes of vegetable oil, which is 12% more than in 2023 (672.1 thousand tons). In January-February 2025, production increased by 26.7%, from 124.8 thousand tonnes to 158.1 thousand tonnes compared to the same period in 2024. Including sunflower oil production increased by 22.4%, from 113,000 tonnes to 138,200 tonnes.
To improve the competitiveness of the oil and fat industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan, support is provided under the program of subsidies for agro-industrial complex entities, including oilseed processing enterprises (soft loans).
