International Publication Assesses Kazakhstan’s Potential as Eurasia’s Agri-Food Hub

Kazakhstan is gradually changing its agricultural development model, moving away from predominantly exporting agricultural raw materials toward building a comprehensive agri-food system. This is highlighted in an article by the international publication The World Financial Review devoted to the country’s role in global food security.

The authors note that Kazakhstan is increasing agricultural production, expanding the geography of its exports, investing in processing, and modernizing irrigation infrastructure. Thanks to its substantial land resources and geographic location, the country has opportunities to supply food to the markets of Central Asia, China, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and other regions.

Production Is Growing and the Crop Structure Is Changing

In 2025, Kazakhstan’s gross agricultural output exceeded $18.2 billion, increasing by 5.9% over the year. The grain harvest reached 25.9 million tonnes, including 19.3 million tonnes of wheat.

At the same time, crop diversification continues. In recent years, the area planted with wheat has declined by almost 900,000 hectares, while oilseed acreage has increased by more than 1 million hectares and pulse crop acreage by 275,000 hectares. This structure is creating an additional raw-material base for the processing industry.

The Focus Is Shifting Toward Processing

One of the main priorities for the development of the agro-industrial complex is increasing the production of higher value-added products. Historically, primary products accounted for around 60% of Kazakhstan’s agri-food exports, while the country remains one of the world’s major wheat exporters.

In 2025, Kazakhstan launched 53 investment projects in agricultural processing with a combined value of $230 million. Food production reached $7.5 billion, increasing by 8.1%.

In January–April 2026, food production exceeded $2.8 billion, which was 14.4% higher than a year earlier. Investment in fixed assets in the sector more than doubled and exceeded $800 million.

During the first four months of 2026, exports of processed agri-food products reached $3.6 billion and accounted for more than 50% of total agricultural exports. The Government aims to increase the share of processed products to 70%.

Kazakhstan Is Expanding Its Presence in Foreign Markets

From September 2025 to July 17, 2026, Kazakhstan exported 13.5 million tonnes of grain and flour in grain-equivalent terms, 12.5% more than during the same period of the previous season.

Shipments to Afghanistan increased by 59% to 2.2 million tonnes, while exports to Kyrgyzstan rose by approximately 40% to 504,000 tonnes. Shipments to Turkmenistan increased by 34% to 210,000 tonnes, while exports to Uzbekistan grew by 37% to 5.6 million tonnes.

Today, Kazakhstan’s agricultural products are exported to more than 72 countries. Major destinations include Central Asia, Afghanistan, the European Union, EAEU countries, Türkiye, and China. Over the past five years, the value of agricultural exports has nearly doubled, from $3.8 billion to $7 billion.

Localization of Agricultural Machinery and Deep Processing

The localization of agricultural machinery production has become an important part of the development of Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial complex. Since 2019, the country has established production of tractors, grain and forage harvesters, reapers, tillage equipment, seeders, and other machinery.

Production of John Deere equipment began in April 2025, while a strategic agreement on long-term industrial cooperation was valued at $2.5 billion. A total of 430 units of machinery were produced in 2025.

In 2026, Väderstad, Dewulf, Lindsay Corporation, Amity Technology, Vervaet, Kuhn Group, and Brandt Agricultural Products also began localizing production. Kazakhstan currently has 10 factories producing various types of agricultural machinery. Production increased by 22% in 2025.

At the same time, deep processing of agricultural raw materials is developing. Three grain-processing enterprises with a combined capacity of more than 510,000 tonnes are already operating in the country, producing starch products, bioethanol, and gluten. Six more major projects worth a total of $4 billion are planned for implementation by 2029.

These include Tiryaki Agro’s $320 million project in Astana to produce starch, gluten, and glucose-fructose syrup. The original article also mentions a Fufeng Group Company Limited facility with a corn processing capacity of 3 million tonnes per year and investment of $1.5 billion, as well as projects by Dalian Hesheng Holdings Group Co., Ltd. and Hopefull Grain & Oil Group valued at $650 million and $1.5 billion, respectively.

Fertilizers and Water-Saving Technologies

Particular attention is also being paid to developing domestic fertilizer production. By 2027, Qazaq Kalium Ltd. plans to launch the first stage of potash fertilizer production with a capacity of 1 million tonnes and increase output to 12 million tonnes by 2035.

Major urea production facilities are also scheduled to be launched in 2029–2030. At the same time, Kazphosphate, together with SINOPEC and CNCEC, plans to expand phosphate fertilizer production capacity to 5 million tonnes. According to the plans presented, by 2030 Kazakhstan aims to fully meet domestic demand for key types of fertilizers and export them to foreign markets.

Water conservation is another area of modernization. Agriculture consumes approximately 60% of the country’s water resources, which is why the use of modern irrigation systems is being expanded across the sector.

By the end of 2025, water-saving technologies covered 543,000 hectares. In 2026, they are planned to be introduced on an additional 163,000 hectares. Further expansion of these technologies is expected to save up to 2.2 billion cubic meters of water annually.

Thus, the development of processing, growth in agricultural exports, localization of agricultural machinery production, new investment projects, and the introduction of water-saving technologies are gradually transforming Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial model. As The World Financial Review notes, the country is moving from the role of a major exporter of agricultural raw materials toward becoming an agri-food hub in Eurasia.

Source: The World Financial Review, August 12, 2026.