Kazakhstan Targets Food Self-Sufficiency by 2028

The authorities are launching a series of projects in agriculture and food processing aimed at reducing imports, Orda.kz reports.

Kazakhstan expects to achieve full food self-sufficiency by 2028. Dozens of poultry farms, dairy farms, and processing plants are being launched, while sown areas are being expanded.

Responsibility for food security has been divided between two ministries: the Ministry of Agriculture oversees the physical availability of products, and the Ministry of Trade and Integration is responsible for economic availability.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, from 2021 to 2024, the industry’s gross output reached 8.3 trillion tenge, an increase of 11.3%.

Crop yields grew by 14%, while livestock production rose by 5.6%.

The volume of food production as a whole increased by 10.5% and reached 1.8 trillion tenge. The volumes of processed meat, milk, flour, vegetable and butter, and pasta increased,
 noted Vice Minister of Agriculture Yermek Kenzhekhanuly.

Currently, Kazakhstan already provides itself with 80–100% of basic food products.

Despite this progress, dependence remains on poultry, sausages, cheeses, sugar, and fish. Over the past three years (2022–2024), 17 poultry meat factories with a total capacity of 144 thousand tons were built.

This raised the country’s self-sufficiency level in chicken meat from 67% to 79%. By 2028, another 41 enterprises are expected to open, allowing Kazakhstan to fully cover domestic demand.

At the same time, significant reliance on imports continues in other categories. In the first four months of 2025, imports accounted for 73.8% of sugar, 76.3% of tea and coffee, 61% of chocolate, and more than half of fish. 

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov