Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan should move from grain trade to a strategic partnership by creating a single food supply chain.

“Kazakhstan has an advantage in its raw material base. Uzbekistan has a huge consumer market, processing capacity, a large population and growing demand. We need to combine these advantages,” Zeynolla Abdumanapov, Chairman of the "KazGrain" Association, said at the VI International Asia Grains&Oils Conference in Tashkent 2026.

Among promising joint projects, he named grain elevators, flour mills and feed mills, oilseed processing facilities, logistics centers and storage terminals.

“Central Asia is not Kazakhstan’s export past, but its foundation for the next 10-20 years. From September 2025 to July 2026, Kazakhstan’s grain and flour exports reached 13.9 million tons. In particular, shipments to Uzbekistan increased by 35% to 5.8 million tons, to Afghanistan by 57% to 2.4 million tons, to Kyrgyzstan by 35% to 528 thousand tons and to Turkmenistan by 32% to 220 thousand tons,” the head of KazGrain said.

According to him, Kazakhstan’s main advantage is its geographical location. The country is situated between the largest consumer markets (China - Central Asia - Afghanistan - Iran - Caspian - Caucasus - Azerbaijan - Turkey) and the largest grain producers (Russia - Kazakhstan - Black Sea region).

“We can become a trade and logistics bridge between East and West,” the speaker said.

He called for viewing Central Asia, China and Afghanistan not as separate markets, but as a single Eurasian agri-food belt.