Total trade
Almaty Region’s total trade rose 15.4% to $2.32 billion in H1 2026. Exports surged 60.2% to $811.7 million, while imports were virtually flat at $1.51 billion, up just 0.3%. The region is clearly shifting its trade balance toward sales abroad.
China leads comfortably by turnover at $753.5 million, up 34.6%. Trade with Uzbekistan accelerated by 62.1%, while Türkiye lost ground, falling 28.1% despite the overall increase.
Exports
Exports reached $811.7 million in H1 2026, up 60.2%. Food products accounted for 59.0% of exports, or $479.3 million, after growing 55.7%, underscoring the region’s strong agricultural orientation.
Tungsten ore, all of it shipped to China, is the largest export item. An unexpected product ranks close behind: cigarettes worth $111.2 million, sold to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia.
Exports to China experienced an exceptional spike to $231.2 million in 2021, compared with the usual $22-60 million in other years. The latest increase, however, has kept trade at an elevated level for a second consecutive year: $60.3 million in 2024, $168.0 million in 2025 and $296.7 million in H1 2026. This increasingly looks like an emerging sales channel for tungsten ore rather than a repeat of the one-off surge seen in 2021.
Imports
Imports stood at $1.51 billion in H1 2026, up just 0.3% and effectively unchanged. Food products accounted for 23.9%.
Aluminium tanks and cans for bottling, sourced almost entirely from Uzbekistan, together with filling equipment from Germany and Italy, reveal a clear food and beverage focus in the region’s imports.
Imports from China have passed through a full cycle, rising from $404 million in 2015 to a peak of $2.0-2.3 billion in 2019-2022 before retreating to $1.0-1.1 billion in 2023-2025. This was a structural cooling after the pandemic and post-pandemic surge. The region has settled on a new, lower plateau rather than continuing to decline.
Almaty Region significantly increased exports in H1 2026, up 60.2%, while imports remained almost unchanged. Growth is being driven by tungsten ore shipments to China and food exports across Central Asia. Imports from China have stabilized at a lower level after their 2019-2022 pandemic-era peak, indicating that the correction has run its course rather than continuing.
National Bureau of Economic Research specifically for EconomyKZ.org
