China may become the main importer of Kazakh sunflower oil

He clarified that in 2022/23 MY, the export of sunflower oil from Kazakhstan increased by 76% compared to the previous season and amounted to 313.34 thousand tons, 40% of this volume was purchased by Uzbekistan (almost at the level of 2021/22 MY), China however, it increased its share from 25% to 38%, that is, it actually caught up with Uzbekistan. At the same time, the export of Kazakh bottled sunflower oil over the last 2 seasons has more than doubled.

Another 16% of total sunflower oil exports were sent to Tajikistan. By the way, in general, Kazakhstan was ahead of the Russian Federation in the supply of vegetable oils to Tajikistan and at the end of 2022 it took a 70% share, Andrey Antonov noted.

The representative of NAPMK emphasized that Kazakhstan has enormous potential for growth in sunflower oil exports. In the next 3-5 years there is every opportunity to increase this figure to 500 thousand tons. In addition, due to population growth and the development of poultry and livestock farming, domestic consumption of these products will increase - according to NAPMK forecasts, up to 280-290 thousand tons.

The speaker clarified that in 2022/23 MY, the production of sunflower oil in the Republic of Kazakhstan amounted to 417.55 thousand tons, which is 50% higher than the previous season.