Last year, Kazakhstan harvested a record grain crop of the past decade — 26.7 million tons, including 18 million tons of wheat. Grain exports for the marketing year (July 2024 – June 2025) amounted to about 12 million tons. According to forecasts from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the 2025 harvest will exceed 20 million tons, with exports expected at 8–9 million tons — only slightly below last year’s figure.
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Azerbaijan remain the largest importers of Kazakh agricultural products. In total, Kazakhstan supplies grain to more than 40 countries, including those in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe. Some shipments also reach India via Pakistani ports such as Karachi and Gwadar.
Export Geography
- Uzbekistan – the top importer, increasing purchases to 2–3.1 million tons this season (+30–40% compared to the previous year).
- Tajikistan – ranks second, importing 1–1.2 million tons (+50%).
- Iran – imports about 0.95–1 million tons, a 17–18x increase compared to the previous season.
- Azerbaijan – 0.63–0.7 million tons (+116% year-over-year).
- China – imports both grain and feed, 0.35–1.7 million tons in total (+17% for grain, +200% for feed).
- Afghanistan – stable imports of 0.25–0.3 million tons (+30–60%).
- Kyrgyzstan – smaller volumes (0.14–0.21 million tons) but growing rapidly (+70–85% annually).
Transportation Challenges and Solutions
To expand export capacity and reduce dependence on traditional transit hubs, Kazakhstan is modernizing its logistics infrastructure. Rail freight plays a central role in the country’s export strategy, with new investments focused on railway routes linking the port of Aktau with key national hubs. Major projects include upgrades to the Dostyk–Mointy and Darbaza–Maktaaral lines, as well as bypasses around Almaty. In 2023 alone, Kazakhstan invested 2.5 trillion tenge in transport and logistics, tripling funding for rail freight.
This modernization is further driven by growing trade with China, which has sharply increased purchases of Kazakh grain and feed crops. Between January and April 2025, freight traffic between the two countries grew by 13%, reaching 11.4 million tons. Over the past five years, Kazakh exports to China have risen by 48%, hitting 32 million tons.
At the same time, Kazakhstan is working on diversifying export markets across the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe.
Rental Wagons: Grain Transportation Solutions
As an active participant in Eurasian trade, Rental Wagons transports over 18,000 tons of goods every month, including agricultural products. Grain must be delivered quickly and carefully during harvest season, when time is critical. To meet urgent transport needs, we offer wagons for spot shipments — a convenient solution when harvest volumes exceed forecasts and additional rail capacity is required.
Benefits of technical trips with Rental Wagons:
- Fast access to rail wagons for large-volume deliveries to major export hubs in Kazakhstan.
- Efficient transportation via railways, bypassing overloaded highways.
- Flexible routing for regional and international deliveries, with coverage across all CIS countries and the Baltic states.
Rental Wagons provides railcars for transporting grain, flour, sunflower seeds, cotton, and other agricultural products within Kazakhstan and to neighboring countries, including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, as well as to Europe through the Baltics (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia).
Contact us to order wagons for your grain transportation needs: