Kazakhstan is on course for a record oilseed harvest. Deputy Agriculture Minister Azat Sultanov told a government meeting on October 13 that 3.7 million tonnes of oilseeds had been threshed, 2.5 times the 1.4 million tonnes at the same point last year. The final figure is expected to top 5 million tonnes.
The grain harvest is nearly over. Of 15.6 million hectares under grain and pulses, 96% has been cut, yielding 23 million tonnes of grain at an average 15.2 centners per hectare.
Volume, quality, exports
In the main grain belt, yields stand at 17 centners per hectare in North Kazakhstan, 14 in Akmola and 14.2 in Kostanay. Wheat area was cut by a planned 1.8 million hectares this year, yet the government still expects the gross grain crop to beat the long-term average.
Quality is the season's strong point. More than 72.4% of wheat delivered to elevators is class 3, and over 47% has gluten content above 28%. In Akmola the class 3 share reaches 90%, with 70% in the high-protein Hi-Pro category.
New-crop exports are picking up. More than 1.1 million tonnes of grain left the country in September, 13% more than a year earlier. The government has told grain receivers to keep running without interruption, ship on time and make full use of available logistics capacity.
Processing grows with the crop
Rules related to this news
Government figures show agricultural output up 5.8% to KZT 7.3 trillion over nine months, with crops up 7.6% and livestock 3.5%. Food industry output rose 13.8% to KZT 3.2 trillion; flour production grew 13.9% and vegetable oil 25.2%. Funding for sowing and harvesting is set to reach KZT 750 billion this year, and subsidised machinery leasing KZT 350 billion.
What it means for Chinese business and trade with China
We have reported that Kazakhstan's vegetable oil exports to China grew 3.7-fold over three marketing seasons, with refining capacity due to double to over 1 million tonnes; that the Development Bank of Kazakhstan gave a yuan pre-export loan to a feed-flour exporter supplying China; and that Russia's FESCO is moving Kostanay feed flour to China via Dostyk and Altynkol.
Our reading: a jump from 1.4 million tonnes of oilseeds at this point last year to an expected 5 million-plus should ease feedstock buying for crushers and raise the volume of oil and meal available for export. A high share of class 3 wheat with good gluten is good news for millers and deep processors. How much of the extra supply ends up in China, though, depends on phytosanitary access, border-crossing capacity and price competition from other markets, and no public figures on that exist yet.
Open questions: how the 5 million tonnes split between sunflower, flax and rapeseed; China's share of September grain exports; and whether border crossings and elevators can handle the shipping peak before winter.
Sources:
Official information resource of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, 13 October 2026 (Russian), https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/v-kazahstane-ozhidayut-rekordnyy-urozhay-maslichnyh-kultur-svyshe-5-mln-tonn-31996
Exclusive.kz, 13 October 2026, https://exclusive.kz/kazahstan-idjot-na-rekord-po-maslichnym-urozhaj-mozhet-prevysit-5-mln-tonn/