FOC 2026 to Bring Together Leading Participants of the Oils and Fats Market and Agribusiness Sector

On June 5, Astana will host the Fifth Anniversary International Oils and Fats Conference “FOC 2026: Fats and Oils Conference.” More than 330 delegates will participate in the event to discuss current market trends, key industry challenges, and prospects for the development of the agro-industrial sector and international trade.

The conference is organized by the National Association of Oilseed Processors with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan, and QazTrade, the Center for Trade Policy Development.

The event will bring together executives from more than 50 domestic oilseed processing enterprises, representatives of government agencies, financial institutions, major agricultural holdings, logistics companies, and analytical organizations. Importers and suppliers of storage and processing equipment for oilseeds will also take part. Participants from 18 countries, including the United States, China, European countries, the Baltic states, the Middle East, and Central Asia, are expected to attend.

According to the results of 2025, Kazakhstan’s oils and fats industry achieved record-breaking results. Production exceeded 1.57 million tons, while export revenues reached USD 963 million. Compared to 2021, export earnings increased fourfold from USD 240 million.

Today, the oils and fats sector is one of the main drivers of economic growth and non-resource exports in Kazakhstan. In 2025, the industry accounted for 27% of the country’s foreign currency earnings from exports of processed agricultural products.

Over the past four years, sunflower oil production increased by 2.3 times and exceeded 752 thousand tons in 2025. At the same time, the average share of imported sunflower oil on the domestic market decreased to 18% during 2022–2025, compared to approximately 39% during 2015–2021.

Kazakh oils and fats products are currently exported to more than 20 countries. Key destinations include China, Central Asian countries, European Union member states such as Germany, Italy, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Norway, and the Baltic states, as well as Afghanistan and Iran.

In 2025, Kazakhstan ranked sixth in the world for sunflower oil exports and second in the Chinese market. The country is also the leading supplier of vegetable oils to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan with a market share exceeding 90%, fully meets Central Asia’s demand for sunflower meal, and ranks among the top three suppliers of this product to the European Union.

To further strengthen export potential, the National Association of Oilseed Processors has developed an Export Development Roadmap for 2026–2028. The document was prepared using the methodology and technical assistance of the International Trade Centre (ITC), with organizational support from QazTrade under the EU-funded Ready4Trade Central Asia project.

Implementation of the roadmap is expected to increase export revenues by 60% to USD 1.5 billion by 2028. This would position Kazakhstan among the world’s four largest sunflower oil exporters. The strategic objective is to enter the global top three suppliers of sunflower oil.