Kazakhstan Launches Large-Scale Push to Shift from Raw Materials to Deep Processing

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Agriculture reports that six investment projects worth about $4 billion, new industrial capacity and exports of processed products worth $3.6 billion are part of a new agro-industrial model in which high value-added products, not raw materials, drive growth. The priority was set by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his address to the nation, “Kazakhstan in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Current Tasks and Their Solutions through Digital Transformation.”

The share of agricultural raw materials sent for processing for meat, milk, oilseeds, corn, rice and buckwheat rose from 35% to 64% in 2023-2025, with a target of 70% by the end of 2026. The state offers preferential financing, investment subsidies, tax preferences and incentives for purchases of domestic raw materials.

About 510,000 tonnes of grain a year go to deep processing at three specialised plants producing starch, gluten and bioethanol. Six projects worth $4 billion are under way in Turkestan, Zhambyl, Kostanay and Akmola regions and Astana. The share of processed goods in agricultural exports rose to 52% in 2024.