ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 15. Arab company "Al Khaleej Sugar" intends to begin the construction of a sugar plant in the Almaty region in August 2025, Trend reports via the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan.
The completion of infrastructure work is scheduled for mid-2027.
The preliminary data from regional akimats (local authorities) indicates that, due to the possibility of processing at existing sugar factories and the need to comply with agronomic norms, the projected area of crops for 2025 will be 18,400 ha.
Meanwhile, thanks to state support measures and favorable weather conditions, the yield of sugar beets has doubled, allowing a record harvest of 1.3 million tons. Specifically, in the Zhambyl region, 648,000 tons were harvested with an average yield of 575.6 centners per hectare, and in the Zhetysu region, 612.300 tons were harvested with an average yield of 452.9 centners per hectare.
The Ministry of Agriculture also noted that the volumes of sugar beet harvest exceeded the processing capacities of existing sugar factories, which, due to high levels of debt, have not expanded their capacity as planned under the Comprehensive Plan for the Development of the Sugar Industry until 2026.
In order to process the harvested crop, a series of meetings and discussions with beet suppliers and sugar factories were held at the level of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture, and regional akimats. A short-term action plan for the acceptance and processing of beets was developed, and operational headquarters were set up to stabilize the situation and ensure the acceptance schedule is followed.
The ministry also highlighted that to compensate farmers for transportation costs for delivering beets from the Zhambyl region to the Aksu factory (100,000 tons), the subsidy rate was increased to 45 tenge ($0.09) per kilogram. The Merke and Aksu factories have been provided with working capital through regional SECs (Social and Entrepreneurial Corporations) for 25.8 billion tenge ($51.6 million) for timely settlements with beet suppliers.
As many as 19.4 billion tenge ($38.8 million) has been allocated from the state reserve to subsidize farmers for the supplied volume of beets.
Also, "SECs (Social and Entrepreneurial Corporations) Pavlodar" has developed a feasibility study for a project to build a sugar factory in the city of Aksu, Pavlodar region, with a capacity of 8,000 tons per day of raw material. Currently, negotiations are underway with a Turkish company to implement the project.
In 2024, the area planted with sugar beets in sugar beet-growing regions of Kazakhstan was increased to 25.200 hectares (13.400 hectares in 2023).
Al Khaleej Sugar is one of the largest producers and exporters of refined sugar in the Middle East. Based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it operates a sugar refinery in Jebel Ali, Dubai. The company processes raw sugar into refined sugar and is known for its high-quality products that serve various industries, including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and other sectors that require sugar as a key ingredient.
Al Khaleej Sugar is part of the Al Khaleej Group, a diversified conglomerate with interests in various sectors. Their sugar refinery is one of the largest single-unit sugar refineries in the world, and they supply sugar not just within the UAE but across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, as well as globally.
