China overtakes Uzbekistan as Kazakhstan’s top fruit and vegetable supplier

From January to September, China’s exports of fruit and vegetables to Kazakhstan rose by 39 percent year on year to $181.7 million. Over the same period, deliveries from Uzbekistan declined by 12 percent to $128.6 million, allowing China to move into first place among suppliers.

Overall, Kazakhstan’s imports of fruit and vegetables increased by 3.2 percent in value terms to $559.7 million during the reporting period. In physical terms, imports grew more strongly, rising by 10.3 percent to 1.2 million tonnes.

Kazakhstan imports a wide range of fruit and vegetable products. The largest items by value were bananas ($49.5 million), potatoes ($46.3 million), tomatoes ($42.7 million), grapes ($34.3 million), onions ($32.2 million), apples ($32.1 million), citrus fruits ($31.2 million), and peaches ($26.6 million).

The shift in market leadership is largely attributed to a sharp increase in supplies from China. Potato imports from China reached $33.4 million, or 136,000 tonnes, while grape imports more than doubled to $22.8 million, or 34,900 tonnes. China also began exporting carrots to Kazakhstan, and shipments of citrus fruits, apricots, and tomatoes increased significantly. In physical terms, imports from China rose 2.2 times over the year to 401,000 tonnes, compared with 360,000 tonnes imported from Uzbekistan.

Together, China and Uzbekistan account for nearly 55 percent of Kazakhstan’s total fruit and vegetable imports.

Longer-term data point to a sustained shift in trade patterns. In the first nine months of 2018, Kazakhstan imported $310.9 million worth of fruit and vegetables from Uzbekistan, compared with $65.4 million from China. Since then, exports from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan have fallen by 2.4 times, while Chinese exports have increased by 2.8 times.