EU duties on Russian linseed enable Kazakhstan to boost record exports to Europe

Kazakhstan’s linseed exports in the first four months of the 2025/26 marketing year (September–December) reached 66% of the country’s projected annual export potential. According to Yevgeny Karabanov, head of the Analytics Committee of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan, December shipments hit a record 178.3 thousand tonnes, up 13% from November, which had also marked a monthly high.

In total, Kazakhstan exported 520 thousand tonnes of linseed during the first four months of the current marketing year, 2.5 times more than in the same period of the previous season. This volume is nearly equal to the country’s total linseed exports for the entire last marketing year.

Exports to the European Union showed the strongest growth. Shipments to Belgium rose to 156.1 thousand tonnes, exports to Poland reached 37.4 thousand tonnes, while deliveries to Estonia totaled 30.8 thousand tonnes, compared with zero shipments in the previous season. Significant increases were also recorded to Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and the Netherlands.

Analysts attribute this trend primarily to higher EU import tariffs on Russian linseed, which were raised to 20% in 2025 and are set to increase to 50% from 2026. The measures have improved the competitiveness of Kazakh linseed in the European market and prompted a reorientation of trade flows.

Beyond the EU, linseed exports from Kazakhstan also increased to China, Afghanistan and Central Asian countries. As a result, Belgium and China emerged as the two largest buyers, together accounting for 68% of total exports. Given the record shipment pace, Kazakhstan’s linseed export forecast for the 2025/26 season has been revised up to 790 thousand tonnes.

Tags: EU, Kazakhstan