Kazakhstan's foreign trade remains stable growth in the first four months, China continues to be a major export market
¬ Kazakhstan's recoverable oil reserves reach 4.263 billion tons
¬ Ministry of Energy: Coal exports at 30 million tons, with Russia accounting for over half
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Kazinform report: According to statistical data, Kazakhstan’s total foreign trade volume reached $44.9 billion from January to April 2026, representing a nominal increase of 7.9% compared to the same period last year.
National Statistics Committee data shows that during this reporting period, Kazakhstan’s exports amounted to $24 billion, while imports totaled $20.9 billion.
Among major import sources, Russia ranked first with $6.6 billion, followed by China at $6 billion; Germany, the United States, and South Korea accounted for $1 billion, $900 million, and $500 million respectively.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s main export destinations were China, Italy, Russia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Exports to China reached $4.9 billion, to Italy $4 billion, to Russia $2 billion, to Turkey $1.7 billion, and to Uzbekistan $1.4 billion.
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Kazinform report: Yerlan Akbarov, Deputy Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, said at a press conference held at the Central Communications Service Center that as of January 1, 2025, Kazakhstan’s recoverable oil balance reserves reached 4.263 billion tons.
Akbarov explained that as of January 1, 2025, Kazakhstan’s recoverable oil balance reserves stood at 4.2625842 billion tons. Of this, category A+B+C1 reserves amounted to 850.1773 million tons, category C2 reserves to 412.407 million tons; additionally, 167.15 million tons of oil reserves are classified as off-balance sheet reserves.
He clarified that “recoverable balance reserves” refer to oil reserves confirmed as economically viable for development and extraction, whereas “off-balance sheet reserves” are resources currently not economically or technically feasible for exploitation.
Regarding natural gas resources, as of now, Kazakhstan’s recoverable natural gas balance reserves amount to 1.716 trillion cubic meters, with off-balance sheet reserves totaling 88.59 billion cubic meters.
In addition, the recoverable balance reserves of associated gas (natural gas accompanying oil) from 259 oil and gas fields nationwide have reached 2.0747464 trillion cubic meters.
According to data released by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy, in 2025, Kazakhstan produced 99.55 million tons of crude oil and exported 78.7 million tons.
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Kazinform report: Yerlan Akbarov, Deputy Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, stated on the 7th at a press conference held at the Central Communications Service Center that Russia remains Kazakhstan’s largest coal export market, accounting for more than half of total coal exports.
Akbarov noted that Kazakhstan’s coal reserves amount to 33.6 billion tons. The majority of domestically produced coal is supplied to the domestic market for power generation, public utilities, and industrial use.
In 2025, Kazakhstan’s coal production reached approximately 115.9 million tons, up 7% from 108.5 million tons in 2024; coal exports reached 30 million tons, exceeding the 29.5 million tons exported in 2024.
Of this, 16.6 million tons were exported to Russia, 5 million tons to Poland, 2 million tons each to Uzbekistan and Turkey, 1.3 million tons to India, and 1.1 million tons to Malaysia.
Akbarov added that Kazakhstan plans to produce 128.9 million tons of coal and export 29.5 million tons in 2026.
Additionally, investment in Kazakhstan’s coal industry reached 691.6 billion tenge in 2025, with the sector currently employing about 32,000 people.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870129913503754/
Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views of the author