Kazakhstan Sunflower Seeds Surge as Prices Firm

• Oilseed Shift: East Kazakhstan’s 537,000-ton oilseed harvest has overtaken grain output (528,000 tons), signaling a structural shift toward sunflower plantings.
• Price Support: Intense competition among roughly 15 domestic crushers, plus new capacity at “Altai Mai,” is firming Sunflower Seed prices with potential gains of up to 35% by spring.
• Export Demand: $50 million in vegetable oil contracts to China underpins strong downstream demand and reinforces bullish sunflower seed fundamentals.

Market Update

East Kazakhstan is undergoing a notable shift from grains to oilseeds, led by sunflower. Oilseeds now account for 42% of the region’s 617,000 hectares of cropland, producing 537,000 tons this season and surpassing grain output (528,000 tons) for the first time. This reverses the previous season’s structure, where grains dominated.

Demand for Sunflower Seeds is being driven by strong domestic processing competition. The region hosts around 15 oilseed mills with a combined annual capacity of 959,000 tons, further expanded by the new “Altai Mai” plant adding 169,000 tons of capacity in September. This robust crushing demand contrasts with the wheat market, where sales are described as challenging.

Price Snapshot

In addition, Kazakh enterprises including East Kazakhstan’s Altyn Shygys LLP and Vostokselkhozprodukt LLP have secured sizable vegetable oil supply contracts with Chinese trading firms worth a combined $50 million, underscoring strong export demand across the oilseed value chain.

Analysis

Bullish. The combination of expanding crushing capacity, firm competition among domestic processors, and large export contracts for vegetable oil is decisively supportive for regional Sunflower Seed values. The forecast to 270,000 KZT/ton suggests that crushers expect tight seed availability heading into spring and are prepared to pay up to secure volumes. For traders and farmers, the relative price strength of sunflower versus wheat points to sustained profitability in oilseeds and likely further acreage shifts away from grains in upcoming seasons, enhancing Kazakhstan’s role as a value-added sunflower oil supplier in the region.

Source: Market Data