Sunflower seed exports in the first half of the 2025/26 season decreased by 12% compared to the same period last marketing year, APK News reports.
"According to the Bureau of National Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan, sunflower seed exports from Kazakhstan in February amounted to 8.8 thousand tons (excluding the EAEU countries), which is 2.6 times less than in January. In the first six months of the 2025/26 marketing year, sunflower seed exports from Kazakhstan amounted to 115.2 thousand tons, which is 12% less than the same period last marketing year," said Yevgeny Karabanov, head of the Analytics Committee of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan.
The main reason is the relatively high cost of sunflower seeds in Kazakhstan and the customs duty on exports of 20% of the customs value, but not less than 100 euros per ton.
Shipments to Turkey alone increased by 5.8 times, reaching 6.1 thousand tons.
Shipments decreased to:
China – by 12%, to 95.4 thousand tons;
Uzbekistan – by 4.5 times, to 2.7 thousand tons;
Tajikistan – by almost 2.7 times, to 0.9 thousand tons.
China, the main buyer of Kazakhstan's sunflower seeds, purchased 83% of the total export volume in the first six months of the current marketing year (82% in the previous marketing year).
Imports came primarily from border regions of the Russian Federation. During the period under review, they amounted to 60.8 thousand tons (excluding the EAEU countries), which is 6.7% less than the same period last marketing year.
"We are reducing the previous forecast for Kazakhstan's sunflower seed exports in the current marketing year by 30 thousand tons, to 205 thousand tons. Over the first six months of the 2025/26 marketing year, sunflower seed exports accounted for 56% of the projected annual export potential," concluded E. Karabanov.