Food prices rose by only 1.2 percentage points from July to August, with food inflation in August at 0.5%, lower than in the non-food and service sectors. Monitoring of 160 food items showed that prices of 19 food items with significant social importance, which are under national regulation, were the most stable. The price index for socially significant goods has risen by 8% since the beginning of the year, but remained unchanged in August, rising by only 0.2% in the first three weeks of September.
Since August, the growth rate of vegetable prices has decreased by an average of 2.5 times. The price of potatoes dropped from 300 tenge per kilogram in July to 184 tenge, lower than last year's level; carrots from 295 tenge to 193 tenge; and onions from 222 tenge to 137 tenge. Dairy prices have risen by only 5.3% since the beginning of the year, and buckwheat by 8.9%, but their impact on the overall index is limited. Meanwhile, the prices of goods such as pasta, flour, and rice are even lower than last year.
Beef remains the most important factor, especially the scapular brisket part, which is listed as a food item of significant social importance. Overall meat prices have risen by about 25% this year, with scapular brisket rising by 23.6%, pushing food inflation up by nearly 2 percentage points.
Data shows that from December 2023 to December 2024, the price of this type of beef will remain stable (2506–2572 tenge per kilogram), despite rising fuel and electricity costs, and even below cost price in some periods.
Currently, the average price of this type of beef in Kazakhstan is 4715 tenge per kilogram, while in Russia it is 10180 tenge, in Uzbekistan 5227 tenge, in Armenia 5112 tenge, in Tajikistan 6070 tenge, and in Belarus 4480 tenge. Overall, the price in Kazakhstan remains the most affordable in the region.
To stabilize the market, the government has banned the export of live cattle since May 15, reducing the monthly price increase from 3% to 1.4%. However, due to strong demand from neighboring countries, beef exports have reached 27,000 tons this year, a 3.2-fold increase compared to last year. In response, the government has decided to set quotas for beef exports, allowing only meat processing plants to export, and is also studying zero-tariff measures for importing beef from certain countries.
In addition, over 3,700 agricultural product markets have been held nationwide, allowing farmers to sell for free, reducing intermediaries and helping to stabilize prices. Monitoring results show that price increases in large chain supermarkets ranged between 5% and 14%, in line with regulations.
The government has also increased its crackdown on unreasonable price increases. Since the beginning of the year, 345 unnecessary intermediaries have been eliminated nationwide, and more than 2,600 administrative penalty decisions have been issued, including over 1,500 fines totaling 56.5 million tenge.
Despite market challenges, overall food inflation has slowed, and prices of socially significant goods have remained stable. Kazakhstan's "food basket" remains at the most affordable level among the Eurasian Economic Union countries, and related stabilization measures will continue to be promoted to ensure people's livelihood.