Over the first three months of 2023, the turnover of commodities between Kazakhstan and the European Union (EU) reached $10.2 billion, a 12.5% increase over the same period last year ($9.1 billion), the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan reported.
«The EU is the biggest trading partner for Kazakhstan, which accounts for 30% of our external trade. This mutual trade is quite dynamic as the amount of trade has been constantly growing,» the agency said in a statement.
The ministry also noted that the Kazakhstani machine-building industry, the iron and steel industry, the food industry and the agricultural sector are capable of exporting to the EU an additional 175 types of processed goods for more than $2.3 billion a year.
According to the official data of the ministry, the main consumer of Kazakhstani goods in Europe is Italy. Over the eight months of 2022, this country imported goods from Kazakhstan for $9.96 billion.
Another big trading partner of Kazakhstan is the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Over the first quarter of 2023, the goods turnover between EEU member states and Kazakhstan reached $6.6 billion, which is 11.6% more than the same period last year. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Kazakhstan’s biggest partner in the EEU is Russia (92%), followed by Kyrgyzstan (4.7%), Belarus (3.2%) and Armenia (0.1%).
The trade with Turkey also may reach $10 billion this year as the two countries officially announced their intention to do so. So far, Kazakhstan accounts for 75% of the mutual trade with Turkey of $4.8 billion thanks to oil and oil products, copper, zinc, aluminum, lead and other commodities, Kursiv reports.
