Astana (TDI): Kazakhstan has reinforced its position as the region’s primary supplier of sunflower oil and oilseed products, following the signing of a major cooperation agreement between the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan’s Fayz Oil Imports, according to the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture.
The memorandum of cooperation, inked in Tashkent, outlines plans for Fayz Oil Imports to purchase $60 million worth of oil and fat products from Kazakh processing enterprises that are part of NOPA. Uzbekistan currently ranks among the top five importers of Kazakhstan’s oil and fat products.
During the 2024–2025 season, exports of vegetable oils and high-protein feed products such as meal and cake from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan reached $349 million, reflecting an 82% increase from the previous year.
Over the past decade, Kazakhstan has emerged as the dominant player in the region’s vegetable oil market. Its share in Uzbekistan’s oil imports climbed to 65% in 2025 from just 13% in 2017, while in Tajikistan, the figure surged to 74% from 15% over the same period.
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Kazakhstan also fully supplies neighboring countries with sunflower meal and cake, essential components in poultry and livestock feed production. The NOPA highlighted that Kazakh products are now exported to more than 20 countries, with sunflower oil exports 1.5 times higher than the combined imports of all Central Asian states.
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“If necessary, we are capable of meeting the entire regional demand for vegetable oils,” NOPA stated, emphasizing the country’s growing processing capacity and competitive edge in agricultural exports.
As of October 22, Kazakh farmers had harvested 98.4% of sown areas, yielding 26.4 million tons of grain with an average productivity of 16.8 centners per hectare, underscoring the sector’s strong performance this year.
