The Kazakh oil and fat industry has significantly strengthened its position on the global market in recent years. For the 2024–2025 marketing year, exports of vegetable oils and meal exceeded 1.3 million tons, amounting to $837 million in monetary terms. By the end of 2025, according to our estimates, Kazakhstan will rise by 2 positions to 6th place in the world for sunflower oil exports and is among the top three suppliers of sunflower meal to the European Union.

This growth is not accidental. The industry is gradually transitioning from a raw material model to deep processing. Currently, over 90% of oilseeds grown in the country are processed within Kazakhstan. This means that finished products with high added value are now being supplied to external markets.

The overall dynamics of agricultural exports also confirm this trend. According to QazTrade, in 2025, agricultural product exports grew by 37.8%, reaching $7.13 billion. The oil and fat sector made a substantial contribution to this result.

As noted by Yadykar Ibragimov, Chairman of the National Association of Oilseed Processors, the industry has fundamentally changed in recent years.

"If Kazakhstan previously mainly exported raw materials, today we supply processed products to external markets. The modernization of enterprises, increased capacity, and logistics development have allowed us to establish ourselves among the world leaders in sunflower oil exports. Our strategic goal is to enter the top three largest exporters and increase the industry's foreign exchange earnings to $2 billion," he noted at a roundtable in Almaty.

Since 2021, processing capacities have grown more than 2.5 times and continue to expand. The main sales markets remain China, Central Asian countries, and the European Union. The combined import of vegetable oils and meal in these directions exceeds 40 million tons per year—this is significant potential for further growth of Kazakh supplies. This dynamic fully aligns with the course set by the Head of State for developing deep processing and strengthening the country's position in external markets.