Annual grain processing in Kazakhstan reaches 5 mln tons
The main areas of agricultural processing in Kazakhstan remain the grain, oil and fat, meat, and dairy industries, Qazinform News Agency quotes Vice Minister of Agriculture, Yerbol Taszhurekov, as saying at a briefing of the Central Communications Service.
“In the oilseed processing sector, around 90 enterprises are currently operating with a combined capacity of more than five million tons. This has enabled Kazakhstan to significantly increase vegetable oil production, which reached 890,000 tons in 2025 — up 17.4% compared to the previous year. More than five million tons of grain are processed annually. At the same time, deep grain processing continues to develop. Three enterprises with a combined capacity of over 500,000 tons are already operating in the country, producing starch, gluten, molasses and bioethanol. In 2025, Kazakhstan produced 29,000 tons of corn starch, 28,000 tons of wheat starch, 13,000 tons of gluten, 82,000 tons of molasses and 21,000 tons of bioethanol,” Taszhurekov said.
According to him, 210 enterprises currently operate in the meat processing industry with a total capacity of about 450,000 tons. In the dairy sector, 180 processing enterprises are functioning with a combined capacity of around 2.7 million tons.
The vice minister noted that deep grain processing is one of the most promising areas of development. Six major investment projects are planned in the coming years, which will significantly increase processing volumes.
By 2028, new deep grain processing facilities with a combined capacity of 5.8 million tons per year are expected to be launched. Total investment in these projects will amount to about 1.9 trillion tenge, and their implementation is set to create more than 3,300 new jobs. As a result, the range of products will expand to include amino acids, syrups, vitamins and other high-tech products.
Taszhurekov also said that 13 projects worth 94 billion tenge are planned in the oilseed processing sector in the coming years. In the dairy industry, 12 projects worth 41 billion tenge are expected to be launched, which will add an additional 165,000 tons of processing capacity.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that the share of processed agricultural products in Kazakhstan across key categories — meat, milk, oilseeds, corn, rice and buckwheat — had reached 64% by the end of 2025.