Farmers from the village of Shengel'dy, located in the Almaty region, are facing difficulties in selling their onion harvest. They claim that high production costs make it nearly impossible to sell their products, even at a price of 30 tenge per kilogram. They consider the lack of effective logistics to be the main problem. A correspondent from Orda.kz visited the farmers and learned their opinion.
This issue is discussed every year. Farmers would like to expand the range of their crops, but the soil is more suitable for onions. They report that production costs reach 7000 tenge, but it is impossible to sell the products due to low market demand. Some of them are forced to sell onions along the roads.
"On the warehouses, onions are sold for 30 tenge per kilogram, which farmers call a 'symbolic price.' Meanwhile, in Almaty and other cities in Kazakhstan, prices exceed 100 tenge. However, due to logistical difficulties and a large number of intermediaries, we cannot bring our products to market. There is a lot of good quality onions, but they do not find buyers," said a resident of the village of Duman.
Farmers are ready for long-term cooperation with entrepreneurs and are prepared to produce the necessary volumes of products under contracts.
"The sales situation has not been resolved for years. Expenses are rising: the cost of water is increasing as pump stations operate on electricity, and the rise in energy resource prices affects tariffs," farmers complain.
Interviewees noted that some pump stations have been privatized, and now farmers must buy water from the new owners at inflated prices, which affects the production costs.
"Currently, the main problems are product sales and high water prices. Due to a lack of funds and low-quality chemicals, we cannot fully cultivate our lands," shared one of the farmers.
Farmers also noted that there are no quality plant protection products available in the market. Cheap chemicals are ineffective, while imported ones are either too expensive or completely unavailable in Kazakhstan.
One farmer, who owns 200 hectares of land, cannot fully utilize his plot due to a lack of funding, which creates a risk that the government may take back unused lands. The main problem lies in the lack of funds.
Farmers are forced to take loans for sowing, but banks do not accept land as collateral, so they have to pledge their homes or other property.
Agrarians state that the introduction of export restrictions to control domestic prices only increases pressure on agriculture. They also believe that the geopolitical situation negatively affects the industry.
"It's easy to take a loan, but hard to pay it back. Half of the villagers are now in debt. Due to a lack of funds, some lands are idle. We are sure that government support is insufficient. Until the war ends and the situation in Russia stabilizes, it will also be difficult for us," say the farmers.
The Akimat of Konayev reported that in 2025, 450 hectares were planted with onions in Shengel'dy, and a total of 16,000 tons were harvested.
"About 10% of the products (1600 tons) were planned to be sold through retail chains. LLP 'Firma Altai' sells 1200 tons at the 'Altyn Orda' market. In the fall, onions were sold at a price of 45-70 tenge per kilogram, which only slightly exceeded the production cost, so farmers decided to leave the products in warehouses. There are seven storage facilities in the region with a total capacity of 27,400 tons, and currently, about 3970 tons of onions are in storage."
Market demand has decreased, slowing down sales. In response, the akimat is increasing the number of free trading spots at the 'Altyn Orda' market and is looking for buyers in Russia, Mongolia, and Tajikistan. Farmers have also been allowed to sell their products at agricultural fairs.
The post Kazakh farmers cannot sell tons of onions even at 30 tenge first appeared on K-News.
