On September 12, 2018, as part of a working visit, Vice Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aidar Abildabekov visited a number of leading export-oriented enterprises in Shymkent and held a meeting with business representatives and city residents.

At Barys 2007 LLP, he got acquainted with the production process, a wide range of manufactured pasta and flour confectionery products. He also got acquainted with the work of the wholesale distribution center of the enterprise, which provides the city with food products. The enterprise employs over 400 workers and the manufactured products are sold both on the domestic market and exported to Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

At Asia Trafo LLP, the only manufacturer of power transformers in Central Asia with a capacity of 25 to 500 MVA. The line of manufactured products was presented, a unique high-voltage testing laboratory equipped with German test stands from HighVolt, Dresden. The company's products are in demand and are exported to the CIS countries and Eastern Europe. The Vice Minister invited the enterprise to take part in the upcoming business forum with the participation of businessmen from Afghanistan, which will be held in October this year in Shymkent.

Wan Sheng Ceramic LLP is a new enterprise producing up to 10 million m2 of ceramic products per year. Among the pressing issues are the high cost of raw materials, overstocking of the warehouse with products and difficulties with sales due to cheap import of low-quality ceramic products from China and Uzbekistan. The Vice Minister asked to officially submit a letter on the existing issues for a more detailed study and application of appropriate tariff and non-tariff regulation measures. The plant's management was recommended to contact Kaztrade JSC for state support to reimburse transportation costs for the export of finished products.

Pioneer Grain Products LLP is a large manufacturer and exporter of wheat flour of various grades. Products are supplied to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Belarus and Russia. The company also operates the Pioneer confectionery factory, which produces confectionery products supplied both to Kazakhstan and to Mongolia and China. In addition, the company has established mass production of interior doors supplied to the domestic market.

In general, companies in Shymkent actively use government support measures, including Asia Trafo LLP, Pioneer Grain Products LLP, and Barys 2007 LLP. Aidar Abildabekov emphasized the importance of supporting the region's export potential. In 2020–2025, QazTrade CRTP JSC provided assistance to dozens of Shymkent companies:

35 companies underwent export acceleration,
27 received compensation for costs of promoting to foreign markets,
36 participated in international trade and economic missions,
19 received Gold Supplier status on the Alibaba.com platform.

A visit to production facilities allowed us to visually see the dynamics of industrial development in the city and the contribution of local enterprises to the country's economy.

At a meeting with residents and entrepreneurs of Shymkent, the Vice Minister presented key indicators on trade. As of August 1, 2025, 827.9 thousand business entities (35.1%) are involved in trade in the country. Trade ranks first in terms of employment - 1.5 million people (16.6%). The contribution to the GDP structure is 16.4%, which is the second indicator among economic sectors.

For the seven months of 2025, the volume of investment in trade amounted to 522.5 billion tenge, which is 31.7% more than in the same period last year. Domestic trade turnover increased by 13.9% and reached 37.5 trillion tenge, of which wholesale trade amounted to 25.2 trillion tenge, retail - 12.3 trillion tenge. In the city of Shymkent, domestic trade turnover for January-July 2025 amounted to 1,807.7 billion tenge.

During the meeting, entrepreneurs voiced a number of issues of interest, including: cargo delays at the border, reimbursement of warehouse rent in the Russian Federation within the framework of e-commerce, difficulties with registration of veterinary documents, accessibility of retail facilities for people with disabilities.

The issue of honey export attracted special attention. Producer Ruslan Dormukhamedov reported on the potential of up to 100 tons of products per year. The Vice Minister recommended taking part in the international exhibition in Shanghai (November), as well as uniting with other manufacturers under the umbrella brand developed by the QazTrade center.

"Shymkent's export and trade potential continues to grow. The Ministry is ready to provide comprehensive support for the further development of business and strengthening the position of Kazakhstani products in foreign markets," the Vice Minister noted.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mti/press/news/details/1068694?lang=kk