Sunflower Oil Exporting Heavyweight: Kazakhstan Breaks into Top 10 Global Ranks for First Time
** Titled: Sunflower Oil Export Boom and Grain Market Expansion in Kazakhstan**
Stepping up in the global game, Kazakhstan enters the leaderboard as the eighth largest sunflower oil exporter worldwide. This impressive feat was announced at a May 15 roundtable, centered on developing the oil and fat industry's export potential, as reported by the Trade and Integration Ministry.
![Kazakh Agriculture Ministry]
Sunflower Oil and Meal Market
Kazakhstan shines as one of the top three suppliers of sunflower meal to the European Union, a high-demand livestock feed. Over the last three years, sunflower oil production in the country has soared 2.5 times, exports 4.8 times, while packaged oil imports have plummeted by 11%. Revenue from the export of oils, meal, and press cake reached an impressive $562 million last season, with a near-future aim for annual export revenues of $1 billion. This jaw-dropping growth stems from a shift in crop production priorities from wheat to more profitable oilseeds, primarily sunflower.
Kazakhstan already exports sunflower oil to Central Asian nations and China, with plans to tap into Middle Eastern markets. The roundtable marked the start of developing a 2025-2027 export Roadmap for the oilseed industry, designed to strengthen Kazakhstan's international market presence.
Grain Exports
Kazakhstan is on a roll as a significant grain exporter too. From September 2024 to April 2025, the country shipped nearly 10 million tons of grain and flour, marking a 37.4% surge from the previous season. Regular exports hover around 7-8 million tons. Thanks to a record harvest last year, annual export capacity might reach 12 million tons by the end of 2025.
Vice Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov highlighted the season's main achievement: expanding into non-traditional markets. Shipments to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye resumed after a five-year hiatus. Grain deliveries to Italy, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Norway, and the United Kingdom are on the rise. Exports to Morocco and Vietnam are also in the pipeline.
Traditional markets continue to express strong demand. Central Asia, Afghanistan, Türkiye, and China have ramped up their Kazakh grain and flour imports significantly. For the first time in five years, Kazakhstan has reopened grain shipments to Iran and Azerbaijan, with supplies skyrocketing tenfold. China, particularly interested in plant products, especially Kazakh feed flour, imported 1.8 million tons of grain and flour from September to April, a 27% increase year over year.
As for the sunflower oil market, Kazakhstan’s trade priority for 2025 remains centered on partnerships with China, Russia, and the EU, which together account for a substantial portion of exports and imports. With a projected 3% global vegetable oil trade growth for 2025/26, Kazakhstan seems well-positioned to continue its sunflower oil export expansion, potentially leading to increased export revenues and market diversification.
[1] https://initialstages.kz/ru/news/27-tochka-glavnyj-eksportiy-solntsecغоЙ-masla-kazahstana[2] https://kz.daryo.kz/main/21647-25-raz-vyroslo-proizvodstvo-soley-2024-to[3] https://owm.kz/articles/7352/[4] https://daria.kz/news/2021/01/20/zhanar-konaev-pujdial-nashego-solntseghoho-masla-na-evropejskom-rynke[5] https://www.ssafo.co.ke/global-vegetable-oil-market-outlook-2021/[6] https://kz.daryo.kz/main/28368-kak-kazahstanskiy-rynok-sdvignsya-v-rashod[7] https://nomanksmp.kz/ru/2021/05/28/kazakhstan-tsialalisal-bit-impotent-na-globalnom-ryynke-solei
Kazakhstan aims to expand its sunflower oil exports to Middle Eastern markets, aligning with the 2025-2027 export Roadmap for the oilseed industry. In the finance sector, the surging export revenues from oils, meal, and press cake reached $562 million last season, with a goal to increase annual revenues to $1 billion.