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ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s exports rose 19.5% year on year to $60.4 billion in January-August, outpacing import growth by more than four times and expanding the country’s trade surplus to $17.8 billion.
Photo credit: Kazakhstan Business Directory.
The country’s foreign trade turnover reached $103 billion, up 12.8% from the same period in 2025. Imports rose 4.5% to $42.6 billion, while the trade surplus widened from $9.8 billion a year earlier, QazTrade, the trade policy development center, reported on Oct. 16.
China remained Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $23.3 billion, or 22.7% of the country’s total foreign trade turnover. Russia ranked second at $18.3 billion (17.8%), followed by Italy at $11.8 billion (11.4%). Together, the three countries accounted for 51.9% of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade.
Türkiye ranked fourth, with trade turnover of $5.7 billion, followed by France at $4.5 billion. The Netherlands and Uzbekistan each recorded $3.8 billion, while trade with Germany reached $2.9 billion, the United States $2.7 billion and Spain $2 billion.
Trade flows varied by direction. Italy was Kazakhstan’s largest export destination, with shipments valued at $10.9 billion, narrowly ahead of China at $10.7 billion. Russia remained the country’s largest import supplier, accounting for $13.2 billion in imports.
Agricultural products and processed goods were among the fastest-growing export categories, reflecting stronger overseas demand for Kazakh products.
Sunflower oil exports rose 48.5% to $672.8 million, with shipments up 35.9% to 611,400 tons. Wheat exports rose 26.5% to $1.25 billion, with volumes up 13.8% to more than 5.5 million tons.
Wheat and wheat-rye flour exports rose 36% to $400 million, while shipment volumes increased 22.8% to 1.38 million tons.
Flaxseed exports more than doubled in value, rising 2.3 times to $387.8 million. Volumes increased 2.5 times to 780,800 tons. Exports of prepared animal feed products climbed 60.8% to $577.6 million, with physical volumes up 44.2%.
Combined exports of sunflower oil, flour and prepared animal feed products reached $1.65 billion, up around 48% year on year.
Metals and mining products also grew substantially. Copper and copper cathode exports rose 55.7% to $3.9 billion, while uranium exports increased 26.9% to $3.1 billion.
On the import side, industrial and energy equipment purchases expanded. Imports of electric generating sets rose 86.5% to $916.5 million, while imports of turbojet and turboprop engines, including gas turbines, increased 3.3 times to $611 million.
The January-August results highlight the expanding trade surplus, the growing contribution of agricultural processing to export earnings, and strong performance in metals and mining.
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