Kazakh Minister of Industry and Construction Yersaiyn Nagaspayev announced at a government meeting on Tuesday that Kazakhstan has secured new deals to import raw materials from Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan for its metallurgical plants, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
According to the minister, metallurgical industry output reached 97.3 percent in the first half of the year. The decline in the sector's performance was caused by objective factors, including scheduled maintenance work at industrial facilities and the gradual deterioration of the country's mineral resource base, said Nagaspayev.
At the same time, compared with the first five months of the year, the industry's performance improved by 1.8 percent, thanks to measures taken to ensure a stable supply of raw materials for metallurgical plants. In particular, domestic producers increased deliveries of copper, zinc, and gold-bearing raw materials to metallurgical plants, supplies of zinc concentrate have resumed, and agreements have been reached to import raw materials from Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, the minister reported.
Nagaspayev also noted that Kazakhstan's manufacturing sector grew by 9.8 percent in the first half of the year. Output increased in machinery manufacturing, chemical production, construction materials, rubber and plastic products, light industry, and other manufacturing sectors.
He attributed the growth primarily to the launch of new production facilities. To date, 74 projects with a total investment of 252 billion tenge have been commissioned, creating more than 4,300 permanent jobs. Overall, by the end of the year, Kazakhstan plans to implement 200 investment projects worth a total of 1.7 trillion tenge, added Nagaspayev.
Earlier, Qazinform reported the non-commodity sector drives Kazakhstan’s GDP growth to 4.1% in H1 2026.