Kazakhstan’s foreign trade turnover in 2025 totaled $143.8 billion, up 1.3% from the previous year, according to data from the Bureau of National Statistics.
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At the same time, the country’s exports fell 3.2% to $79 billion, while imports rose 7.4% to $64.8 billion. As a result, the trade surplus declined 33% to $14.2 billion, the lowest level since 2020.
Decline in commodity exports
«The decline in exports is primarily related to commodities. Oil supplies decreased by 7%, uranium by 8.1%, copper cathodes by 2.2%, copper ores by 9.3%, and ferroalloys by 15.5%. The combined loss of foreign exchange earnings for these five items amounts to approximately $4.1 billion,» economist Ruslan Sultanov calculated.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan increased exports of wheat (up 46.1%), sunflower oil (up 64.5%), silver (up 19.2%), sulfur (up 2.1 times), and gold (up 47.6%). However, these gains did not offset the losses, as total growth in foreign exchange earnings for these items amounted to only $1.5 billion.
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Kazakhstan’s exports declined to Italy (down 16.2%), Russia (down 14.8%), France (down 9.8%), Greece (down 14.8%), the U.S. (down 47.7%), and South Korea (down 26%).
According to Sultanov’s calculations, export growth was driven by Turkey (up 17.7%), Uzbekistan (up 24.6%), Kyrgyzstan (up 29.3%), the UK (up 2.9 times), and the Netherlands (up 13%).
