Kazakhstan dairy exports reach 34,700 tonnes worth $66.4 million as revenue rises 16.6%

Kazakhstan exported 34,700 tonnes of dairy products worth $66.4 million, with the sector's export revenue up 16.6%, according to data presented at the Cheese Open event and reported by dairynews.today. The figures were presented by a representative of the Kizelmann group of companies, who said the markets of the Eurasian Economic Union and Central Asia remain the main destinations for Kazakh dairy shipments.

Growth was concentrated in processed categories. The three product groups disclosed in the presentation account for 25,900 tonnes and $39.6 million of the reported total, leaving the balance — which includes cheese and butter — without a separate breakdown.

Fermented milk is the largest export category

Fermented dairy was the single biggest export line. Shipments of yoghurt, kefir and ryazhenka reached 17,900 tonnes worth $23.6 million, with the value of the category up 24.9%, dairynews.today reported. That equates to roughly $1,320 per tonne.

• Fermented milk products: 17,900 tonnes, $23.6 million, value up 24.9%
• Condensed and powdered milk: 2,900 tonnes, $12.1 million, up 2.2 times
• Drinking milk and cream: 5,100 tonnes, $3.9 million, up 1.8 times

Condensed and powdered milk is by far the highest-value line per unit of weight, at about $4,170 per tonne, against roughly $765 per tonne for drinking milk and cream. The gap explains why dry products account for 18% of export value on 8% of export volume.

Russia absorbs most of the volume

Russia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan were named as the main buyers of Kazakh fermented dairy. Georgia, Mongolia, Armenia and China were listed as new destinations for the category.

In condensed and powdered milk, Russia took 1,900 tonnes worth $8.1 million and Uzbekistan 607 tonnes worth $2 million, with additional shipments to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Of the 5,100 tonnes of drinking milk and cream, 3,600 tonnes went to Russia, while volumes to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan also increased.

Industry commentary published by dairynews.today points to Central Asia's relatively low production costs, particularly in crop farming and fodder, as the basis for further export growth, and singles out neighbouring China, where demand for dairy products remains high, as the market with the greatest potential to absorb scaled-up regional output.

Domestic processing remains the bottleneck

Industry participants quoted by dairynews.today described a widening gap between farm output and processing capacity. Farms are expanding faster than plants, and processing facilities are currently underloaded, raising the prospect that processors will be unable to take all the milk produced and will move to cut purchase prices. Dairy plants have already lowered milk purchase prices from 250 to 160 tenge, and factories in the Pavlodar and East Kazakhstan regions suspended milk purchases altogether during the summer, while buying milk powder at 1,000 tenge per kilogram. Producers also cited intensifying price competition from Russian and Belarusian suppliers on the domestic market.

Input costs are rising as well. A ban imposed by the Kazakh regulator on cattle imports from Hungary has closed the land route for breeding stock from the European Union transiting Russia, forcing farms to switch to air transport and increasing the cost of imported animals. One project cited in the same material involves a plant processing 300 tonnes of milk per day and producing 60 to 100 tonnes of cheese per month, a scale few plants in Kazakhstan currently reach. The Cheese Open presentation concluded that further export growth will depend on the ability of enterprises to produce higher value-added goods, maintain consistent quality and adapt their product ranges to the requirements of target markets.