Lang
Kazakhstan's vegetable oil exports jumped 46.2% year-on-year during the first half of 2026, reaching 560.6 thousand tons, according to EnergyProm data cited by Qazinform. The strong overseas performance contrasted sharply with a steep contraction in domestic sales, which declined 24.5% to 121.1 thousand tons over the same period.
Sunflower oil dominated the export basket, with shipments climbing 41.2% to 481 thousand tons. Domestic sales of sunflower oil, by contrast, fell 28% to 83.9 thousand tons. The value of sunflower oil exports alone reached $533 million between January and June.
The export expansion was underpinned by a robust increase in processing volumes. Between January and July, Kazakhstan produced 673.2 thousand tons of refined and unrefined vegetable oils, up 29.1% from a year earlier. Output of unrefined sunflower oil rose 29.4% to 473.1 thousand tons, while refined sunflower oil production increased 13.5% to 104.8 thousand tons.
Refined rapeseed oil posted the strongest gains, with output nearly doubling to 60.2 thousand tons. The picture was less positive for soybean oil, where production declined 9.2% to 7.9 thousand tons, and for cottonseed oil, which fell 29.7% to 3.3 thousand tons.
The growth in crushing capacity has been supported by an unprecedented oilseed harvest. Kazakhstan gathered a record 4.9 million tons of oilseeds in 2025, while planted area expanded by 30% in 2026 to 5.2 million hectares. Sunflower acreage alone hit a record 2.2 million hectares, up 25% year-on-year.
Source: UkrAgroConsult