Kazakhstan Approves 2030 Trade Policy Concept to Strengthen Domestic and Global Trade

Astana, The Gulf Observer: The Government of Kazakhstan has approved the 2030 Trade Policy Concept, which officially entered into force in November 2025, media reports said. The document outlines a comprehensive strategy to advance the country’s trade sector, a key component of the national economy that employs over 1.5 million people, accounting for 16.6% of the country’s workforce. Over the past decade, the sector has generated 228,000 jobs and registered more than 806,000 business entities, representing one-third of Kazakhstan’s enterprises.

The Concept aims to establish sustainable and transparent linkages between the production, storage, and sale of goods in both domestic and foreign markets. It seeks to create a supportive environment for all trade participants, ensuring buyers have access to locally produced and imported goods at fair prices, producers benefit from predictable sales channels, and businesses operate under convenient and legally sound conditions.

According to the document, the Concept is designed to build a trade ecosystem leveraging digital technologies, efficient trade processes, fair competition principles, consumer rights protection, and domestic production support, while integrating Kazakhstan into global supply chains and positioning the country as a key trade and logistics hub in Central Asia.

Trade is recognized as an independent economic sector with distinct priorities, challenges, and development strategies, with the overarching goal of protecting the economic interests of the country and its citizens. The Concept focuses on three main development areas: creating a modern trade ecosystem, supporting domestic production and export growth, and enhancing consumer protection.

The Concept sets out ambitious target indicators to be achieved by 2030, including:

• Growth of the physical volume index of trade from 107% in 2025 to 110.2%.
• Increase in labor productivity from 121.9% to 171%.
• Growth of investments in fixed capital from 1.22 trillion tenge to 2.7 trillion tenge.
• Reduction of the shadow economy’s share in trade from 3.02% to 2.42%.
• Increase in the share of exchange trading from 10% to 27%.
• Growth of e-commerce from 15% to 20%.
• Expansion of modern trade formats from 44% to 72%.
• Growth of non-resource exports from USD 41 billion to USD 52 billion.
• Improvement in consumer protection regulation efficiency from 74.7% to 80.7%.
• Enhancement of Kazakhstan’s measurement standards capabilities from 3.4% to 14.5%.

The 2030 Trade Policy Concept reflects Kazakhstan’s long-term vision to modernize its trade sector, support domestic businesses, expand exports, and strengthen the country’s role in regional and global trade.