Kazakhstan Lifts Imports of Russian Condensed Dairy 30% to $28 Million
Kazakhstan increased imports of Russian milk and cream by 8% in value to $14.7 million over January–July 2026, while sweetened condensed milk and cream rose 30% to $28 million. Liquid milk volumes were flat at about 10,100 tonnes, meaning the entire value gain came from price, while condensed shipments grew about 20% to almost 10,200 tonnes. Russia supplied 30.8% of all Kazakh goods imports over the seven months.
Kazakhstan increased its imports of Russian milk and cream by 8% in value terms in the first seven months of 2026, to $14.7 million, while imports of condensed milk and cream with added sugar rose 30%, to $28 million. The figures come from the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan and were analysed by TASS.
In January–July 2025, Astana valued its purchases of Russian milk and cream at about $13.6 million. The comparison covers the identical seven-month window in both years, so the change does not reflect a shifted reporting period. Taken together, the two dairy categories were worth $42.7 million over the period.
Condensed dairy drives the increase
The sharper move is in sweetened condensed milk and cream. Physical shipments rose about 20%, to almost 10,200 tonnes, against 8,400 tonnes in January–July 2025, according to the TASS analysis of the Kazakh data. Value grew faster than volume — 30% against 20% — which means buyers in Kazakhstan paid more per tonne than a year earlier. The implied average value of the 2026 shipments is close to $2,700 per tonne.
Sweetened condensed dairy is the easiest milk product to move over long distances. It is shelf-stable, needs no cold chain, and is purchased in bulk by confectionery, bakery and ice cream manufacturers as well as by retail. Kazakhstan and Russia are both members of the Eurasian Economic Union, which removes customs barriers between the two markets and leaves transport and price as the main variables for exporters.
Liquid milk and cream: volumes flat, bill higher
For milk and cream that is not concentrated, the picture is different. Physical volumes stayed roughly at 2025 levels, with the republic importing about 10,100 tonnes from Russia in January–July. Because tonnage was unchanged while value rose 8%, the entire increase reflects higher prices rather than additional supply. For processors in Kazakhstan that means a larger raw-material bill for the same quantity of Russian milk, and no evidence in the trade data that domestic raw milk is displacing imports.
- Milk and cream: $14.7 million, up 8% year on year; about 10,100 tonnes, broadly unchanged
- Condensed milk and cream with added sugar: $28 million, up 30%; almost 10,200 tonnes, up about 20%
- Milk and cream, January–July 2025: about $13.6 million
- Condensed milk and cream, January–July 2025: 8,400 tonnes
Russia remains the top supplier
Beyond dairy, Russia was Kazakhstan's leading import partner over the seven months, accounting for 30.8% of all goods brought into the republic from abroad, according to the Bureau of National Statistics. Close to a third of the Kazakh import basket therefore originates in a single country, which makes shifts in Russian supply and pricing directly visible in Kazakh input costs.
The dairy figures sit inside that wider pattern. Two categories are moving in different directions: one is growing on price alone, the other is adding real tonnage. That points to steady demand for Russian dairy in the Kazakh market and an expanding role for processed, sweetened products in particular. Russian exporters gain a larger revenue base in a neighbouring market, while producers in Kazakhstan face imported competition that is growing fastest in the value-added segment. Neither TASS nor the Bureau of National Statistics published a breakdown by company or by region.
