BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 12. Kazakhstan’s imports of goods increased by 5.5% year-on-year to $31.5 billion in the first half of 2026, driven by higher purchases of intermediate and investment goods, while consumer goods imports declined.
This was reflected in a press release published by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of National Economy, citing Kazakhstan’s Bureau of National Statistics.
According to the publication, intermediate goods accounted for 47.6% of total imports, reaching $15 billion after a 14% increase. Investment goods imports rose by 10.6% to $8.1 billion.
Trend’s calculations show that intermediate and investment goods together accounted for approximately 73.3% of Kazakhstan’s total imports, or $23.1 billion, in January-June 2026.
The increase in these two categories added approximately $2.6 billion to imports compared with the first half of 2025. Meanwhile, consumer goods imports declined by around $1 billion, partly offsetting the increase in production-related purchases. These estimates are based on reported growth rates and rounded values.
Consumer goods imports fell by 10.5% to $8.3 billion. Non-food consumer goods imports declined by 15.4% to $5.6 billion, according to the ministry, citing the Bureau of National Statistics.
Under the National Bank’s balance of payments methodology, imports increased by 6.2% to $32.3 billion. Intermediate goods imports rose by 13.8%, while non-food consumer goods imports decreased by 11.2%. Exports grew by 27.1%, more than four times faster than imports.
The increase in investment goods imports coincided with stronger capital investment in Kazakhstan’s manufacturing industry. According to the ministry, citing the Bureau of National Statistics, investment in fixed capital rose by 9.6% in real terms to 9.5 trillion tenge in January-June 2026. Investment in manufacturing increased by 33.3% to 1.43 trillion tenge, accounting for approximately 15% of total investment.
Manufacturing output grew by 9.8% during the period, while machinery production increased by 23.1% and chemical industry output by 20.7%.
Imports of several categories of industrial equipment also recorded significant increases. Purchases of electric generating sets rose by 83%, machinery for lifting, handling, loading and unloading by 70.1%, and equipment for sorting and grinding earth by 2.1 times.
Intermediate goods imports were supported by higher purchases of natural gas, up 96.3%; turbojet engines and gas turbines, up 2.7 times; petroleum products, up 41.6%; uranium, up 2.6 times; and gold, up six times.
Meanwhile, imports of passenger cars declined by 21.9%, pharmaceutical products by 18.7%, suitcases and bags by 49.4%, women’s textile clothing by 38.9%, and air conditioners by 34.3%.
According to the ministry, citing the National Bank, imports of non-food consumer goods have declined for 11 consecutive quarters since the fourth quarter of 2023.
The decrease in passenger car imports coincided with an expansion in domestic production. Kazakhstan produced 88,886 passenger cars in January-June 2026, up 37.2% year-on-year, while sales in the official dealership segment remained stable. This trend points to a potential partial substitution of imports by domestic assembly.