Kazakhstan produced 25,700 metric tons (mt) of cheese and cottage cheese in the first five months of 2026, up 28% from the same period a year earlier, with output increasing by 5,600 mt, Qazinform News Agency has learned from the Bureau of National Statistics.
Between January and May, Kazakh producers exported about 900 mt of cheese and cottage cheese. While Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia remained the main export markets, shipments to Uzbekistan and Mongolia increased, with exports also reaching Azerbaijan and South Korea for the first time.
Imports of cheese and cottage cheese, meanwhile, fell 9.2% year on year as domestic production increased. Domestic demand also remained strong, with sales of cheese and cottage cheese reaching 41,400 mt in the first five months of 2026, up 11.2% from a year earlier.
As of June 2026, the average retail price of cottage cheese in Kazakhstan stood at 2,457 tenge per kg. Prices ranged from an average of 1,661 tenge per kg in Petropavl to 3,060 tenge per kg in Zhezkazgan. Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov met with Desserta Hellas executives Athanasios Platanias and Josef Braunshofer to discuss investment opportunities in Kazakhstan's dairy industry.