145 enterprises form the processing base of the dairy industry in Kazakhstan

The total gap between consumption and production in Kazakhstan's dairy industry is estimated at 3,394 thousand tons. The greatest deficit is recorded in the Almaty region and Almaty — 1,030 thousand tons, Akmola region and Astana — 700 thousand tons, Mangystau region — 218 thousand tons, Turkistan region and Shymkent — 200 thousand tons. The North Kazakhstan region, Abai, and Ulytau remained surplus, but their volumes are insufficient to balance the national demand.

According to Mikhail Mishchenko’s presentation, Kazakhstan's processing base consists of 145 dairy enterprises. The largest companies by sales in milk equivalent in 2024 were Leader-2010 — 638 thousand tons, Natizhe Sut Fabrikasy — 581 thousand tons, JLC Sut — 399 thousand tons, AYS-plus — 371 thousand tons, and DEP Kostanay Dairy Plant — 182 thousand tons. The top ten also included Emil, Danone Berkut, Milk, FoodMaster, and Eurasian Foods Corporation.

Import remains an important element of the domestic market. In terms of liquid milk, imports in 2024 amounted to 42,792 tons. The main supplier was Russia with a share of 54.2%, followed by Kyrgyzstan — 20.6%, Belarus — 14.1%, Iran — 4.9%, and France — 4.5%.

For other categories, imports also remained at a significant level. In 2024, imports of skimmed milk powder amounted to 15,937 tons, cheese — 19,644 tons, whey — 8,476 tons, butter — 8,822 tons, fresh cheese — 20,723 thousand tons, and analog cheese — 18,387 tons. For a number of positions, the key suppliers remain Russia and Belarus, while Kyrgyzstan, Iran, France, and Lithuania play a significant role in certain segments.