Kazakhstan bans apple imports until the end of 2026
According to the Bureau of National Statistics, Kazakhstan harvested 205,200 tonnes of apples in 2025. At the same time, the country imported 94,400 tonnes and exported 20,700 tonnes. Imports accounted for approximately one-third of apparent consumption, with Poland, China and Iran among the main suppliers. The domestic harvest was insufficient to meet demand even if exports had been halted. Between August 2024 and August 2025, the average retail price of apples rose by almost 20% to 843 tenge per kilogram. Kazakhstan is considered the historical birthplace of the cultivated apple: its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, grows in the foothills of the Tian Shan.
Most Kazakh apples are sold fresh, while processing is largely limited to juice production. Fruit that does not meet appearance or size requirements is often left in orchards. According to industry estimates, annual losses could amount to as much as a quarter of the harvest, or around 50,000 tonnes of apples. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan imports concentrate, apple puree, pectin and dietary fibre used by juice, confectionery and dairy producers, as well as the pharmaceutical industry. Market participants estimate annual spending on imports of concentrate and pectin alone at approximately $12 million. In an illustrative calculation presented in the article, selling 50,000 tonnes of fresh apples at $0.50 per kilogram generates around $25 million. Products made through advanced processing of the same quantity of raw material are valued at approximately $36 million—$11 million, or 44%, more.
In his October address, Tokayev said that agricultural and agro-industrial output had grown by approximately 6% over the year, reaching 15 trillion tenge. Concessional financing increased from 1 trillion to 1.5 trillion tenge. The president instructed officials to expand farmers' access to long-term investment financing and accelerate funding for high-quality projects. The portfolio of food industry initiatives prepared by Baiterek holding exceeds 500 billion tenge. Other instructions included improving the storage and marketing of agricultural products and ensuring access to agricultural logistics centres for farms of different sizes. Developing agricultural infrastructure under the People's Construction programme was designated a joint responsibility of the government and Baiterek. The president identified projects involving advanced processing and higher labour productivity as priorities.
At an expanded meeting of the ministry's board, Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov said that the processing share across the main categories—meat, milk, oilseeds, maize, rice and buckwheat—had reached 64% in 2025. The target for 2026 is 70%. In 2024, Kazakhstan exported $5.1 billion worth of agricultural and agro-industrial products. Processed goods accounted for more than half of that amount for the first time: their share reached 52%, or approximately $2.6 billion, compared with 43% a year earlier. In 2025, the value of processed product exports rose a further 35.3% to $3.6 billion. Food production reached 3.9 trillion tenge that year.
Alpecon Group is implementing an apple-processing project in Almaty Region. The company's chief executive, Samat Balabekov, links its objectives to processing raw materials within Kazakhstan and retaining jobs, technology, production expertise, export earnings and profits in the country. Market participants estimate that a single modern processing complex could replace current imports of apple concentrate and pectin and establish export sales. Offtake agreements lasting up to ten years are being signed for products from new production facilities with buyers from Turkey, Korea, Japan and China. Balabekov also considers the absence of an integrated commercial fruit-growing system a problem. Experts cited in the article note the fragmentation of cultivation, agronomic support, financing, storage, processing and sales. They identify shortages of working capital and agronomists, along with a lack of guarantees of timely sales at fair prices, among farmers' difficulties.
The article considers cooperatives and consortia centred on large processing enterprises as a way to bring industry participants together: these organisations would provide farms with sales outlets and factories with reliable supplies of raw materials. Overseas examples include South Tyrol in Italy, where the average orchard covers 2.5 hectares and around 95% of growers belong to cooperatives. These organisations handle storage, grading, processing and sales. In Poland's Grójec region, farms working together produce more than 40% of the country's apples. Washington State has more than 100 packing and grading centres that accept farmers' produce; the state accounts for more than 60% of US apple production. South Korea is cited as an example of using food, cosmetics and functional ingredients to promote a national brand. Balabekov believes Kazakhstan should seek recognition not only as the birthplace of the apple but also as a producer of products made through advanced apple processing.
According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT) cited in the article, Kazakhstan produced around 205,000 tonnes of apples in 2025, while Uzbekistan produced more than 1.3 million tonnes. Industry plans envisage establishing up to 10,000 hectares of intensive orchards in Zhetysu and Almaty Region. These plantings are expected to yield an additional 240,000–250,000 tonnes of apples annually. The article identifies several prerequisites for expanding the industry: building storage facilities and grading lines to separate fruit destined for the fresh market from fruit for processing; training agronomists, processing technologists and engineers; cooperation between businesses and universities; and on-site workplace training. Plans also include providing suitable living conditions for specialists in rural areas and attracting financing for projects with confirmed sales arrangements.
