Sunflower Seed Monthly Update (Kazakhstan) 2025-11

Kazakhstan's Food Corporation has expanded its direct procurement program in 2026 to include sunflower, flax, and buckwheat alongside wheat and barley, aiming to diversify sowing areas and involve more agricultural entities. As of February 16, 2026, farmers have delivered 114 thousand tons of grain products, with the largest volumes sourced from Akmola (43.7 thousand tons), North Kazakhstan (40 thousand tons), and Kostanay (24.2 thousand tons) regions. The program prioritizes applications, offering expedited processing and prompt financing to support timely spring field preparations. The Food Corporation manages around 2 million tons of state and commercial grain annually, including 500 thousand tons in state reserves and 200 thousand tons in feed funds, ensuring market stability and steady raw material supplies for essential food production. The direct procurement mechanism guarantees fair pricing and eliminates intermediaries, facilitating secure sales for producers.

The Akmola region is preparing for the 2026 spring sowing season with 539.8 thousand tons of seeds, diesel fuel, and mineral fertilizers in stock, and 37 thousand units of equipment at 82% readiness, expected to reach 100% by mid-April. The sowing campaign will cover 5.5 million hectares, primarily cereals (4.6 million hectares), oilseeds (570 thousand hectares), and forage crops (370.4 thousand hectares), supported by 15.4 billion tenge in credit under the "Keng Dala 2" program for 145 farms. In East Kazakhstan, 629.9 thousand hectares are planned for crops, including 254.2 thousand hectares of cereals and legumes, 232.3 thousand hectares of oilseeds (mainly sunflower), and 132 thousand hectares of fodder crops, with full readiness of over 16 thousand agricultural machines and complete seed provision. The region allocated 4.1 billion tenge in subsidies for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation, with early financing provided to 41 agricultural enterprises between October 2025 and January 2026.

Construction will begin this year on a modern seed processing plant at the East Kazakhstan Agricultural Experiment Station, aimed at producing high-quality soybean and sunflower hybrid seeds adapted to local soil and climate conditions. The fully digital facility will feature advanced equipment to achieve a seed purification rate of 95–99%, with processes including fractionation, cleaning, treatment, soaking, and packaging. The plant will deliver certified, ready-to-plant seed material meeting both domestic and international standards. Production capacity is expected to reach 40 tons per hour for grain crops and 20 tons per hour for sunflower, with seed mode productivity at 20 tons per hour for grain and 5 tons per hour for sunflower.

Kazakhstan's oilseed industry saw significant growth in 2025, with sown areas increasing by 37.7% to 3.9 million hectares, driven largely by a 38.4% rise in sunflower cultivation. The gross harvest of oilseeds reached 4.8 million tons, up from 3.3 million tons in 2024, while sunflower harvests grew to 2.3 million tons. Vegetable oil production rose by 17.4% to 888.8 thousand tons, with sunflower oil output increasing by 17.5%. Exports of vegetable oils surged 34.6% in the first 11 months of 2025, with Uzbekistan, China, and Tajikistan as key markets. Kazakhstan ranks eighth globally in sunflower oil exports and is a top supplier of sunflower meal to the EU. Government policies including export duties, sanitary protocols with China, and preferential loans aim to support further expansion and competitiveness of the sector.