The fate of rams is to become meat

The Fate of Sheep is to Become Meat

Kazakhstan continues to increase its mutton exports. According to the Bureau of National Statistics (BNS) of the ASPR RK, in January–July of this year, 18.7 thousand tons of sheep and goat meat were exported from the country — 28.7% more than in the first seven months of 2025.

Kazakhstan supplies sheep and goat meat to more than 10 countries. The export structure allows for the conclusion that the growth in foreign shipments is driven exclusively by Uzbekistan, which accounts for 97.9% of mutton and goat meat exports from Kazakhstan. In January–July 2026, the RU increased its import volumes of small ruminant meat from the RK by 37.3%. The physical volume of shipments amounted to 18.3 thousand tons, while the value increased 2.5 times, reaching 51.5 million USD.

The main reason for the growth of mutton shipments from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan is high domestic inflation and a lower price for this commodity in the RK. According to open-source data, a kilogram of such meat in the RU at the beginning of October cost 11.4 USD, while in the RK it was 10.2 USD.

The remaining countries purchasing mutton and goat meat from Kazakhstan account for very small shares and minor physical volumes of shipments. The buyers include the UAE, Tajikistan, Qatar, Kuwait, and others. All of these states reduced their imports of mutton from the RK in January–July of this year. Notably, selling sheep and goat meat to far-abroad countries is a more profitable option for Kazakhstan than exporting to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. However, the shipment volumes are incomparable. The calculated value of a ton of mutton exported to the UAE reaches 9.9 million USD, whereas for Uzbekistan it is only 2.8 million USD.