Prices for Basic Food Products Keep Rising in Kazakhstan as Regional Gaps Widen

Prices for socially important food products in Kazakhstan continue to rise. As of mid-April 2026, the annual increase reached 5.1%. At the same time, analysts are recording a significant gap between regions, Orda.kz reports, citing Energyprom.

Although the pace of growth is lower than a year ago, pressure on household budgets remains. The situation was further complicated by the expansion of the list of socially important food products from 19 to 31 items, which, analysts say, increased the burden on akimats.

A wide regional gap is also being recorded. The highest annual price growth was seen in Aktau at 9.1%, Zhezkazgan at 8%, and Taldykorgan at 7.2%. Since the beginning of the year, the same cities have remained among the leaders: Zhezkazgan at 5.9%, Aktau at 4.5%, and Taldykorgan at 3.6%. The smallest annual increase was recorded in Konaev at 3.4%, and in Pavlodar and Kokshetau at 4.2%. Since the start of the year, the lowest growth was seen in Pavlodar, Atyrau, and Aktobe, at just 0.8%.

Given that price controls for socially important food products are the responsibility of akimats, this difference points to uneven effectiveness of regional measures. Formally, local authorities are supposed to contain growth through maximum retail markups and stabilization funds, but in practice these tools are working unevenly.

Price declines were mostly seasonal: cucumbers fell by 43.3%, onions by 28%, cabbage by 25.4%, and potatoes by 12.9%. But this has not offset the increase in the cost of meat products.

At the same time, regional price differences remain significant. For bone-in beef, the gap reaches 26%; for boneless beef, more than 40%; and for lamb, almost 39%. This difference is unlikely to be explained by logistics and costs alone and more likely points to differences in competition and local oversight.

The expansion of the list of socially important food products was supposed to improve affordability, but in practice it has only highlighted systemic problems: the price of basic food increasingly depends on the region where a person lives, according to the analysts.

Original author: Elvira Ivannikova

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