Kazakhstan's oil and fat export plan for 2026-2028 released: promoting the enhancement of the processing industry and expansion of exports

On December 11, a roundtable meeting on the "2026-2028 Roadmap for the Development of Kazakhstan's Fat Products Exports" was held in Astana, with representatives from government departments, processing industry associations, exporters' associations, industry organizations, and international partners in attendance. The initiative aims to promote Kazakhstan as a country with a competitive advantage in exporting high-value-added products, with annual export value exceeding 1 billion USD, thereby bringing greater growth momentum to the national economy and social development. This "Roadmap" was jointly formulated by the National Oilseed Processors Association and the Kazakhstan Trade Policy Development Center (QazTrade), with the process, methods, and technical support from the International Trade Center. The related work was completed within the framework of the "Ready4Trade Central Asia: Prosperity through the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor" project funded by the European Union. The project aims to implement President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's directives to increase the proportion of the processing industry to 70%, reduce import dependence, develop finished product exports, and stabilize domestic prices. The "Export Roadmap" outlines comprehensive measures for the industry's development over the next three years, including addressing raw material shortages, promoting new agricultural technologies, improving logistics, enhancing infrastructure, and creating more favorable conditions for farmers and processing enterprises through financial instruments. One of the key points to achieve the goal is to accelerate the diversification of planting structures and develop oilseed reception and storage infrastructure to support agricultural producers. Currently, Kazakhstan's domestic fat industry is on the verge of significant transformation, with enormous development potential. Kazakhstan is continuously consolidating its position in the global agricultural products market—it has become one of the top ten sunflower oil exporters worldwide and one of the three major sunflower meal suppliers to the European Union. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's fat products have been exported to more than 20 countries and regions globally. It was revealed at the meeting that Kazakhstan plans to establish a public-private partnership platform to promote the implementation of the goals set out in the "Roadmap."