Kazakhstan tightens trade controls on gas, steel, and construction goods

A meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission on Foreign Trade Policy and Participation in International Economic Organizations was held in the government, where a decision was made to extend the ban on the export of liquefied gas from the territory of Kazakhstan. The ban was previously introduced to prevent the transit of liquefied petroleum gas to neighboring countries and to avoid a shortage in the domestic market, the government press service reports.

"Furthermore, the ban on the export of steel billets and semi-finished products has been extended for another six months. The positive result of the previously introduced ban was the reorientation of existing capacities for the production of steel billets to deeper processing in the metallurgical industry and an increase in the export of reinforcement bars by almost 30 thousand tons," the report said.

The Commission also supported the proposal to introduce a three-month ban on the import of drywall and stone products from non-Eurasian Economic Union countries. In 2024, 95.2 thousand tons of paving stones were produced in Kazakhstan with an internal consumption volume of 58.76 thousand tons. Last year, domestic companies produced 35.5 million m2 of drywall with a domestic demand of 38.8 million m2. Meanwhile, the production capacity of Kazakh enterprises is around 46 million m2. Domestic producers of drywall and stone products have undertaken to maintain the current prices for these products.

Moreover, the Commission decided to extend anti-dumping measures against seamless hot-rolled pipes from China and galvanized sheet from China and Ukraine, and also approved the automatic licensing of the export of plywood from the Republic of Kazakhstan. This will allow for an analysis of the export flows of domestic plywood.

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