Kazakhstan Plans to Enter the Top Three Global Exporters of Vegetable Oil by 2027

Kazakhstan is actively developing its oil and fat industry and has set an ambitious goal – to enter the top three leaders among global exporters of vegetable oil by 2027. To achieve this goal, the country will launch three new oil refining facilities in the East Kazakhstan, Abai, and Turkestan regions in 2026.

This is reported by AgroReview

Increase in Production and Processing of Oilseeds

As noted by government representative Aliya Rakhimova, the country’s oil and fat industry is an example of successful cooperation between state policy and the production sector. Thanks to this, Kazakhstan has recently transitioned from being an importer of vegetable oil to being among the top ten global exporters. In particular, last year the country ranked third in sunflower meal exports to the European Union and fully supplied Central Asia with sunflower meal and cake.

The planned export revenue for 2027 is expected to reach 1 billion dollars. By 2025, exports are anticipated to be at 840 million dollars, nearly double the figure for 2024.

Expanding Areas and Increasing Exports

Global demand for vegetable oil continues to grow, as rising living standards lead consumers to increasingly prefer vegetable oil over palm or soybean oil. There is also a growing demand for meal and cake for feed production.

To meet this demand, Kazakhstan is significantly expanding its oilseed cultivation – in recent years, these areas have doubled to 3.9 million hectares. In the North Kazakhstan region, oilseed plantings reached 1 million hectares this year, while in Akmolinsk, they reached 500 thousand hectares. A total of 4.7 million tons of oilseeds have already been harvested, of which 2.3 million tons are sunflowers. Plans are in place to increase the cultivated area to 5 million hectares.

“Almost 85% of the sunflowers grown in the country are processed domestically. And processing is growing at a rapid pace. This year – by 18.7% (807 thousand tons over 11 months). Next year, three new oil refining facilities will be launched in the North Kazakhstan, Abai, and Turkestan regions. Following, as per all the rules of successful business – deep processing, which includes the production of margarine and other fats,” said A. Rakhimova.

Thus, in a short period, Kazakhstan’s oil and fat industry is transitioning from increasing its raw material base to large-scale development of processing and increasing exports. This creates conditions for strengthening the country’s position in global markets for high value-added products.