Kazakhstan’s vegetable oil exports to China up 44%
Kazakhstan ranked as the second-largest supplier of sunflower oil to China in 2025, capturing a 36% share of the market, Qazinform News Agency quotes Yadykar Ibragimov, Chairman of the National Association of Oilseed Processors (NOPA), as saying.
According to the Association, in 2025 Kazakhstan’s exports of oil and fat products to China increased by 44% to 440,000 tons, while revenue grew by 37% to $312 million.
“One of the factors behind the growth of exports to China has been the improved efficiency of logistics processes. Since early 2024, the Association and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy have been implementing a pilot project for the transshipment of vegetable oil through the Dostyk–Alashankou border crossing. Since then, the fulfillment of shipment plans toward China has exceeded 90%, whereas in 2023 this figure did not surpass 40%,” Yadykar Ibragimov said at the international conference Chinese Grains & Oils Congress 2026 in Shanghai.
According to the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, in March this year the NOPA, together with Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, also launched a pilot coordination of export plans for granulated sunflower meal shipped in grain wagons to China, based on the already proven mechanism used for transporting vegetable oil.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that annual grain processing in Kazakhstan reaches 5 million tons.