Kazakh flaxseed exports hit record highs this season - Grain Union

ALMATY. May 4 (Interfax) - Flaxseed exports from Kazakhstan are setting historic records this agricultural year, driven by surging shipments to the European Union and China, said Yevgeny Karabanov, head of analytics at the country's Grain Union.

"Kazakh flaxseed exports in the first half of the season continue to set absolute records, especially to the EU and China," Karabanov said on Telegram.

Karabanov said that the Grain Union had raised its forecast for Kazakh flaxseed exports this agricultural year to 1.05 million tonnes. In April, the union had projected exports of 910,000 tonnes.

Flaxseed exports in March totaled 126,100 tonnes, excluding Eurasian Economic Union countries, down 3% from February, Karabanov said. Over the first seven months of the current agricultural year, September 2025 through March 2026, flaxseed exports reached 890,700 tonnes, which is 136% higher than the same period last year and 70% above the total export volume for all of the previous agricultural year.

Exports to the EU have grown significantly. Belgium received 227,300 tonnes, up 80%; Poland 78,800 tonnes, up 310%; Germany 11,100 tonnes, up 100%; and the Czech Republic 9,400 tonnes, up 220%.

Shipments to other countries also rose: Afghanistan received 96,900 tonnes, up 190%; China 365,800 tonnes, up 130%; Pakistan 5,100 tonnes, up 6%; and Uzbekistan 13,200 tonnes, up 28%.

Belgium and China, the two main buyers of Kazakh flaxseed, together accounted for 66.5% of total exports over the seven-month period, Karabanov said.

Kazakh flaxseed is increasingly filling the niche left by Russia in the EU market, Karabanov has said. In 2026, following an EU import duty increase on Russian flaxseed to 50%, Kazakh flax is expected to become the dominant supplier to the EU market.

Kazakhstan's oilseed harvest reached a record 4.8 million tonnes in 2025, including 1.4 million tonnes of flaxseed.