Kazakhstan’s trade sector recorded a robust 5.7 percent year over year growth during the first half of 2026, driven heavily by a dominant wholesale market and steady gains in retail, according to the Bureau of National Statistics, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The industry’s physical volume index reached 105.7 percent for the January-June period, maintaining an upward trajectory throughout the year. The sector started the year with a modest 102.9 percent volume index in January before accelerating to its peak of 105.7 percent by June.
A closer look at the data reveals that wholesale trade remains the engine of the industry, commanding a staggering 67.6 percent share of the total trade structure, while retail trade accounted for the remaining 31.9 percent. Wholesale trade volume crossed 24.5 trillion tenge during the first six months of 2026, marking a 6.6 percent increase compared to the same period in 2025.
Non-food products and industrial-technical goods dominated the wholesale landscape, making up 79.5 percent of the total turnover. Regionally, the country's financial capital and major industrial hubs drove the vast majority of this activity: Almaty city - 35.2 percent; Atyrau region - 14.9 percent, Astana city - 14.3 percent, and Karaganda region - 5.5 percent.
Meanwhile, retail trade reached 11.5 trillion tenge, up 3.8 percent compared to the previous year. The expansion was fueled by both corporate entities and individual entrepreneurs, with the latter (including open markets) seeing a strong 5.1 percent rise in sales.
Private domestic enterprises dominated the retail market share, accounting for 88.4 percent (10.2 trillion tenge) of all sales, while foreign companies made up 11.6 percent (1.3 trillion tenge). While non-food items still comprise the bulk of retail shopping at 67.7 precent, food products surged by 9.5 percent over the year to capture 32.3 percent of the retail market.
Almaty and Astana led retail consumption – 31.5% and 13.7%, respectively, followed closely by Karaganda (7.1%) and East Kazakhstan regions (5.6%). Monthly retail trade growth also maintained a positive trend: the volume index increased from 102.1 percent in January to 103.8 percent in June.
As of July 1, 2026, retail commodity stocks in the country stood at 1.72 trillion tenge, which are estimated to sustain national consumer demand for approximately 61 days. Earlier, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan’s foreign trade was up 7.9% in January-April 2026.