From $3.4B to $10B: How Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan Will Triple Trade Through Grain and Clusters

Kazakhstan intends to radically expand agricultural cooperation with Uzbekistan, proposing to increase export volumes to 14.5 million tons and move towards creating joint production clusters. This initiative, announced in Tashkent, is backed by the ambitious goal of bringing mutual trade turnover to $10 billion.

Plans to deepen the partnership were announced by the Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Arman Shakkaliyev. Speaking at the first meeting of the Council of Ministers of Trade and Investment of Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan, he specified that Kazakhstan is ready to increase supplies of grain, legumes, oilseeds, as well as flour and vegetable oil.

According to the Kazakh Ministry of Trade, Astana is offering Tashkent not just trade, but the formation of complete production chains. This involves the creation of cross-border agricultural clusters, which will include feedlots, meat and milk processing facilities, and the development of the fats and oils industry.

The implementation of these projects pursues two key goals. Firstly, it will strengthen food security in the region. Secondly, it will allow the two countries to produce joint products with high added value for subsequent export to the markets of China, the Middle East, and South Asia.
Parallel to agricultural integration, transport and logistics projects were named as a key area of cooperation. Both republics view the development of transit corridors as a strategic factor for the growth of all regional trade.

Positive dynamics are already being observed: last year, the volume of transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) through Kazakhstan increased by 35%, reaching about 2.8 million tons.

To further build capacity, Kazakhstan has proposed that its partners strengthen the coordination of tariff policies and accelerate digitalization. The introduction of "paperless trade" mechanisms and infrastructure modernization should significantly reduce costs for businesses and increase the capacity of the corridors.

The proposed initiatives are based on achievements already made. According to the Ministry of Trade, in just nine months of the current year, bilateral trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan grew by more than 18%, reaching $3.4 billion.

The current course towards deepening cooperation in the agricultural sector and logistics should become the driver for achieving the strategic objective—reaching the $10 billion mutual trade figure in the foreseeable future.