Kazakhstan is seeking to strengthen foreign economic cooperation with Uzbekistan and other Central Asian states. This was announced by Samat Tenbayev, Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC “National Company Food Corporation,” at the Asia Grains&Oils Conference in Tashkent 2025.
According to him, Uzbekistan remains one of the main importers of Kazakh agricultural products. Like in the global market, Kazakhstan is shifting crop areas away from water-intensive crops towards oilseeds, pulses, and forage. Diversification has been set as a strategic priority for the agro-industrial sector until 2030.
This year, Kazakhstan significantly increased exports of oilseeds, particularly sunflower, to Uzbekistan and other regional markets. The Food Corporation expressed readiness to work with domestic producers and processors to strengthen food supply chains across Central Asia.
Conference participants showed great interest in grain deep-processing projects launched in Akmola, Zhambyl regions and Astana. The national grain operator has already become one of the largest exporters: during the 2024–2025 season, it shipped over 800,000 tons of wheat, accounting for 8.9% of the country’s total grain exports.
In the first eight months of 2025, Kazakhstan exported around 12.8 million tons of grain to Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Iran, and new destinations.
