According to official statistics, for 10 months of 2022, Kazakhstan produced 389.9 thsd tonnes of sunflower oil, up by 47% compared to the same period of the previous year. Starting from May 2022, production of sunflower oil began to exceed significantly last year's figures.
The structure of production is dominated by crude sunflower oil, the share of which increased significantly in 2022. In January-October 2021, the share of crude sunflower oil accounted for 54% of the total production volume. For the same period of 2022, the average figure was 71%. The production of refined sunflower oil decreased by 5% y/y over the reporting period to 113.3 thsd tonnes.
At the same time, the export of refined sunflower oil from Kazakhstan increased significantly. In January-October 2022, about 39.5 thsd tonnes of refined oil were supplied to foreign markets, up by 60% y/y.
The export of crude sunflower oil almost tripled to 150.5 thsd tonnes compared to 50.7 thsd tonnes in January-October 2021.
The geography of sunflower oil exports from Kazakhstan has expanded significantly. In January-October 2021, deliveries were made to only 7 countries. In 2022, there are 19 countries in the list of importers. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China and Afghanistan are the key importers of Kazakh oil. In 2022, Turkey appeared among TOP-5 importers, which did not purchase Kazakh oil in the same period of 2021.
All key importers significantly increased the purchases. Thus, during the reporting period, China increased imports from Kazakhstan by 12.4 times to 60.7 thsd tonnes. Afghanistan imported 6 times more oil (15.9 thsd tonnes). Uzbekistan raised purchases by 52%, and Tajikistan by 23%.
The export geography of refined sunflower oil also expanded somewhat. Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan remain the key buyers. Uzbekistan increased imports by 34%, Tajikistan by 2.8 times and Afghanistan by 5.3 times.
On some markets, Kazakh sunflower oil is systematically replacing Russian origin. Taking into account the active development of the fat-and-oil industry in Kazakhstan, the competition in this segment will increase on the markets of Central Asia in the near future.
Analytic department of APK-Inform
