Kazakhstan is actively increasing the production and processing of oilseeds and plans to become the world's third largest producer of sunflower oil.

Thanks to a well-coordinated tandem of state policy and business, Kazakhstan has gone from being a recent active importer of vegetable oil to one of the top 10 global exporters. It fully supplies Central Asia with sunflower meal and cake, and last year rose to 3rd place among suppliers of sunflower meal to the EU countries.

The country's authorities plan to become one of the world's top three suppliers of vegetable oil by 2027, increasing its exports to $1 billion. In 2025, oil exports will reach $840 million, which will double the 2024 figure.

Global demand for sunflower oil is constantly growing, as consumers increasingly prefer it over palm or soybean oil as their quality of life improves. In addition, demand for meal and cake for animal feed is also growing rapidly.

In recent years, the area under oilseeds in Kazakhstan has almost doubled to 3.9 million hectares, and there are currently plans to increase it to 5 million hectares. This year, the country harvested 4.7 million tons of oilseeds, including 2.3 million tons of sunflower.

According to USDA forecasts, in the 2025/26 MY, Kazakhstan will increase sunflower production compared to the previous season by 33% from 1.83 to 2.4 million tons, which will double the figure for the 2023/24 MY (1.2 million tons).

Almost 85% of the sunflower grown is processed domestically, and the processing volumes are constantly growing. Over the 11 months of this year, they increased by 18.7% to 807 thousand tons. In 2026, Kazakhstan plans to commission three new oil refining facilities, which will allow for an increase in the production of margarine and other fats.

As a result, in a fairly short period of time, the oil and fat industry is already moving from the phase of increasing the raw material base to scaling up processing and exports. And this is the beginning of a new history of strengthening the country's position in the export markets of products with high added value, the government of the country believes.