Kazakhstan imposes ban on sunflower imports from Russia

The Kazakh authorities plan to introduce a ban on the import of sunflower seeds from the Russian Federation from October 23, as Phomopsis has been repeatedly detected in imported batches, the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan reports.

 

During inspections of imported sunflower consignments carried out during 2025 and 2026, 23 cases of detection of Phomopsis (Diaporthe helianthi), which is a quarantine object, were registered. To prevent its import and spread, the government of Kazakhstan sent an appeal to the Federal Service for Agricultural Supervision to temporarily suspend the issuance of phytosanitary certificates for sunflower imported from the Russian Federation from October 23. Such steps are preventive in nature and are aimed at ensuring quarantine safety and protecting the agricultural sector of Kazakhstan.

 

Recall that recently, Kazakhstani traders reported a difficult situation on the sunflower market, which required government intervention, in particular, the abolition of the duty on the export of Kazakh sunflower or the introduction of a ban on the import of sunflower from the Russian Federation to stabilize sunflower prices on the country's domestic market. Currently, sunflower prices are 25-30% lower than last year, as processors from Kazakhstan are actively importing sunflower from the Russian Federation.