Kazakhstan plans to channel $2.6 billion into deep grain processing projects by 2028, aiming to move beyond bulk commodity exports and sell higher-margin products.

Kazakhstan will invest $2.6 billion in deep grain processing by 2028, launching five major projects designed to add industrial capacity for 4.8 million tonnes per year of wheat and corn, Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov said at a government briefing.

Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov

The new plants are expected to broaden the country’s processed output beyond traditional milling into amino acids, syrups and vitamins, with target markets spanning the United States and Europe, as well as China, India and the Middle East, Saparov said, arguing that Kazakhstan’s raw material base gives it a competitive advantage.

CAPACITY SET TO JUMP NEARLY TENFOLD

The projects, set to launch progressively by 2028, are intended to lift Kazakhstan’s current deep-processing capacity of roughly 510,000 tonnes per year to a level approaching ten times that figure.

Kazakhstan currently has three deep-processing facilities producing starch, gluten, molasses, bioethanol and related products. Total investment across the five projects is estimated at about $2.6 billion, with authorities projecting the creation of around 3,300 jobs.

Projects are spread across Kazakhstan’s main grain and processing corridors. In Kostanay, authorities plan a wheat-processing plant with 415,000 tonnes of annual capacity, targeting lysine, gluten, bioethanol and carbon dioxide. In the Turkestan and Zhambyl regions, the pipeline includes corn-processing facilities producing starch, gluten and glucose-fructose syrup. Separate facilities planned for Astana and Akmola will focus on starch and gluten production alongside bioethanol and amino acids.

Officials framed the deep-processing push as part of a wider strategy to increase domestic value-add across agriculture and build full value chains—from primary production through processing, storage and logistics to export markets.

Saparov said Kazakhstan is implementing 40 food-processing projects across the sector, with a focus on oilseeds, meat, fruit, wool and compound feed. Of these, 29 projects were commissioned in 2025, he said.

2026-2028 AGRO PLAN PUTS DIGITALISATION AND AI AT THE CORE

The deep-processing programme is positioned as a central pillar of the government’s Comprehensive Agro-Economy Development Plan for 2026–2028, developed under presidential instructions. Authorities said the plan prioritises digitalisation, artificial intelligence integration, and development of complete, export-oriented value chains. Key goals include building agro-industrial clusters, strengthening producer-to-market linkages, and positioning Kazakhstan among the world’s top 10 countries in deep grain processing.