Russia, Kazakhstan Agricultural Trade Up 9.4% In 9M 2025

Russia and Kazakhstan boosted agricultural trade 9.4% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2025, according to the Russian Agricultural Ministry. They made the announcement following talks held between Oksana Lut, Russia’s Agriculture Minister, and Aidarbek Saparov, the Kazakh Agriculture Minister.

Mineral fertilizer trade also continued to grow and was up almost 42% year-on-year in the same period.

The ministers signed a plan for Russia-Kazakh cooperation in the scientific and technological development of the agribusiness sector, aimed at combining the scientific efforts of the two countries in such areas as livestock farming, land reclamation, selection and seed production, and education. In addition, a bilateral Russian-Kazakh foreign trade development strategy was signed.

Russia and Kazakhstan are part of the International Association of Commodity and Futures Exchanges which is aimed at agricultural and other commodities and was put in place earlier this year to better regulate prices and improve food security.

This is important for Kazakhstan, as its agricultural consumption patterns are characterized by a diet rich in plant-based products, with per capita consumption of dairy, meat, fruits, and vegetables falling below regional norms. While the country is a net exporter of food energy, it struggles with self-sufficiency in certain products, relying on imports for these. Factors like climate change, which threatens yields of wheat and livestock, and government subsidies for diversification, influence consumption and production trends.

Kazakhstan is a major importer of Russian agricultural products for specific goods such as milk, grains, and vegetables.

Russia and Kazakhstan are also both members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Eurasian Economic Union, and have a Strategic Partnership Agreement, the highest level of bilateral trade cooperation.