China bought more than 80% of Kazakhstan’s sunflower seed exports

Kazakhstan exported 134,000 tons of sunflower seeds during the first seven months of the 2025/26 marketing year, down 16.5% compared to the same period last season. The figures were reported by Yevgeny Karabanov, Head of the Analytics Committee at the Grain Union of Kazakhstan.

According to the analyst, the main reasons behind the decline were high domestic sunflower seed prices in Kazakhstan and the existing export duty. At the same time, China remained the key buyer of Kazakh sunflower seeds, purchasing 111,100 tons, or 83% of total exports.

Despite China’s dominant share, shipments to the country also declined by 17% year-on-year. Exports to other destinations fell even more sharply: supplies to Uzbekistan dropped 4.5 times to 3,000 tons, while exports to Tajikistan decreased nearly 2.8 times to 900 tons.

Turkey was the only market to show growth. During the seven-month period, Kazakhstan increased sunflower seed exports to Turkey by 5.8 times, reaching 7,000 tons.

According to the Grain Union of Kazakhstan, sunflower seed exports during the first seven months of the current marketing year accounted for 65% of the projected annual export potential. The forecast for total sunflower seed exports in 2025/26 remains unchanged at 205,000 tons.

Tags: China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, sunseed