Kazakhstan plans to ban carrot exports after a sharp rise in shipments. The Ministry of Agriculture will restrict exports of fresh and chilled carrots to third countries and EAEU members for three months, excluding transit. The draft order has been posted on the "Open NPA" portal.
Carrot exports surged this year. In the first ten months of 2025, 91,600 tonnes were shipped abroad, 3.4 times more than in the same period in 2024. Exports to Uzbekistan jumped 13.7 times to 65,900 tonnes, compared with less than 5,000 tonnes last year. Other new markets included Tajikistan (4,400 tonnes), Ukraine (567 tonnes), and Belarus (113 tonnes). Exports to Kyrgyzstan fell 1.5 times to 1,200 tonnes, and shipments to Russia dropped 2.2% to 19,300 tonnes.
Looking at the past five years, carrot exports started rising in 2023, when 22,800 tonnes were shipped. Before that, annual exports did not exceed 11,000 tonnes: 10,800 in 2020, 6,800 in 2021, and 4,500 in 2022. In 2024, 29,800 tonnes were exported.
On the domestic market, carrot prices rose 17% year-on-year in November 2025, reaching 178 tenge per kilogram. Compared to November 2020, prices increased 1.6 times. Producers sold carrots for an average of 113,800 tenge per tonne, up from 72,100 tenge in 2024 and 70,600 in 2020.
Farmers are reluctant to grow carrots due to the export ban, says Baizhan Ualkhanov, head of the Potato and Vegetable Growers Union. He warns that measures to control prices for socially significant products could cause domestic shortages and losses for farmers. Southern Kazakhstan buys carrots from Russia while Siberia imports Kazakh carrots, so blocking exports will not affect Russia but will hurt local producers. Over 120,000 tonnes of carrots in the Pavlodar region alone may spoil, as carrots have a shorter shelf life than potatoes.
Farms will face storage costs without revenue, and some farmers are already discarding carrots they cannot sell domestically. Many producers are removing carrots from their 2026 plans, which could lead to real shortages since half of the farmers may not plant the crop. Ualkhanov stresses that if domestic purchase is not guaranteed, the export ban will increase import dependence and threaten food security.
He concludes that the Ministry of Trade must consider all stakeholders: if export bans are imposed, domestic purchases must be ensured; otherwise, the restrictions will harm farmers and national food security.
Source: lsm.kz
