Kazakhstan wraps up 2025 cotton harvest
As of today, cotton has been harvested from 142.3 thousand ha, representing 98.5% of the total planted area. Farmers have collected 422,000 tons of raw cotton, with an average yield of 24.9 c/ha, Kazinform News Agency reports, citing the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture.
“In 2025, a total of 144.5 thousand ha were allocated for cotton cultivation, including 50 thousand ha equipped with drip irrigation systems. The expansion of areas using modern water-saving technologies became possible through a joint project between JSC "SEC" Turkistan and the Turkistan Cotton Agroindustrial Complex LLP. Compared to 2024, the area cultivated using traditional methods has decreased by 9,000 ha. Switching to drip irrigation enables more efficient use of water resources and boosts crop yields — a particularly important factor for the southern regions of the country, where agricultural production is especially intensive,” the ministry noted.
The development of the cotton industry is backed by a comprehensive system of state support that spans the entire production cycle — from sowing to processing. It includes subsidies for seeds, mineral fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation water expenses.
Cotton is the only crop in Kazakhstan whose seeds are subsidized for 100% of the cultivated area, whereas subsidies for other crops range from 15% to 50%. Farmers also receive additional support when using second-generation seeds.
To support spring fieldwork and harvesting, farmers are provided with discounted diesel fuel and access to preferential credit programs such as Ken Dala–2 and Preferential Leasing, both offering an annual interest rate of 5%.
Since September 2025, a mobile task force — comprising public representatives and delegates from processing companies — has been operating under the Turkistan region akimat to promptly resolve issues faced by cotton farms.
This season, processing companies have been providing advance payments of 200,000 tenge per ton, with final prices reaching up to 250,000 tenge depending on the quality of the cotton.
“Each year, Kazakhstan produces over 300,000 tons of raw cotton, which is used to produce 70,000–75,000 tons of cotton fiber. Around 85% of this output is exported — primarily to Latvia, Türkiye, Russia, China, and other countries — while the remaining 15% is processed domestically,” the ministry added.
As reported earlier, Akmola region has completed a record harvest campaign with 7.6 million tons of grain — 75% of the harvested grain is of the highest quality, creating broad opportunities for its sale both domestically and internationally.
