Demand for Kazakhstani-made macaroni products is growing in Russia

Over the period from January to April 2022, Kazakhstani producers of macaroni products earned more than $24.5 million from the product exports. Their shipments abroad have risen by 18% while revenues increased by 30%, according to QazTrade, a public entity facilitating foreign trade in Kazakhstan.

The Bureau of National Statistics reported that during the first four months of the year, Kazakhstani companies produced about 56,200 tons of macaroni products. This is a 10% increase over the same period last year.

The vast majority of this volume (57%) has been consumed domestically, while the rest were exported abroad. Among the key importers of Kazakhstani macaroni products are Russia (51% or 12,000 tons), Tajikistan (15%), Uzbekistan (13%) and Kyrgyzstan (12%).

QazTrade’s analysis shows that this year’s increase in macaroni product exports has been driven by high demand in Russia. The agency’s experts believe that the high demand for Kazakhstani macaroni products is fueled by two key factors. The first one is a decline in real people’s income, which forces consumers to seek cheaper products. Second, given the tensions between Russia and Europe, Russian businesses may struggle with ordering new equipment for the production of macaroni products from Europe. Earlier, Italy used to be a key supplier of such equipment.

QazTrade’s analysts noted that these factors can help Kazakhstani producers to beef up their exports. Given that they currently use just 47% of their capacity, they can increase the exports eight-fold (about 170,700 tons a year).