The QazaqSut Chamber Clarifies Kazakhstan's Milk Self-Sufficiency Situation
The organization noted that the country indeed fully supplies itself with raw milk, but remains dependent on imports for deeply processed products such as butter, cheese, and cottage cheese.
"According to official data, in 2024, Kazakhstan produced 3.6 million tons of milk. Thus, domestic production more than covers the basic needs of Kazakhstanis for milk," the Chamber's statement reads.
According to QazaqSut's calculations, self-sufficiency levels for key categories—milk, fermented dairy products, and butter—range from 88% to 96%, indicating a high degree of food independence. Meanwhile, production volumes continue to grow in 2025.However, there remains a significant dependency on imports for cheese and cottage cheese, primarily from Belarus and Russia.
"There remains an import dependency for cheese and cottage cheese. We constantly raise the issue of the necessity to develop this production and compete with the 'expansion' of Belarusian and Russian cheeses, and we are in dialogue with the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan," noted QazaqSut.
According to the organization, in 2024, the volume of dairy product imports amounted to 183 thousand tons worth $410.7 million, equivalent to approximately 600 thousand tons of raw milk. These figures confirm that while Kazakhstan is fully supplied with raw materials, it still depends on imports of finished products.The Chamber emphasized that Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov's words about 100% self-sufficiency refer to the production of raw milk, not processed products.
"Kazakhstan practically fully supplies itself with cow's milk, but there is an import dependency on deeply processed dairy products," QazaqSut summarized.
