Future of the Sunflower Seed Export Duty Referred for Further Review

The fate of Kazakhstan’s export duty on sunflower seeds remains undecided. At the meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission on October 8, the government discussed whether to maintain the measure — a policy criticized by farmers but credited with significant economic benefits. The final decision has been postponed pending additional market analysis.
The issue drew attention due to complaints from agricultural producers. They argue that during the harvesting campaign, purchase prices for their products have remained lower than expected, which they attribute to the existing export restrictions.
The 20% export duty (but not less than €100 per tonne) was introduced on February 4, 2023, with the aim of stimulating domestic processing and stabilizing prices.
Government officials presented strong arguments in favor of keeping the duty. Since its introduction, the state treasury has received 24.1 billion tenge in revenue. These funds, as noted, are redirected to subsidize the very same farmers affected by the measure.
Moreover, the policy has had a notable economic impact on the processing industry. Over the past three years, during the period of restrictions, Kazakhstan has achieved remarkable progress:
• Domestic production of sunflower oil increased 2.5 times.
• Exports of finished oil grew 4.8 times.
This surge allowed Kazakhstan to enter the top 10 global exporters of sunflower oil for the first time, securing the 8th place.
For ordinary consumers, the duty has also brought positive effects. Retail prices for sunflower oil have stabilized: while in January 2023 a liter of oil cost over 900 tenge, today the average price is about 843 tenge.
After hearing all sides, the Interdepartmental Commission decided not to rush with a decision. The Agency for Protection and Development of Competition was instructed to conduct a detailed analysis of the wholesale sunflower oil market and the purchasing prices offered by processing plants. The question of the export duty’s future will be revisited at the next commission meeting following completion of this study.