INTERFOOD ASTANA 2026: OVER 2,000 FOOD MARKET PROFESSIONALS AND GROWING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS INTEREST IN KAZAKHSTAN

FROM MAY 13 TO 15, 2026, THE 26TH KAZAKHSTAN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION “FOODSTUFFS, DRINKS, INGREDIENTS, PACKAGING AND EQUIPMENT FOR FOOD INDUSTRY” INTERFOOD ASTANA 2026 WAS SUCCESSFULLY HELD IN ASTANA.

The exhibition once again confirmed its status as one of the key professional B2B platforms in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, bringing together food manufacturers, suppliers of equipment and ingredients, processing enterprises, retail, distributors and HoReCa representatives. Against the backdrop of growing interest in production localization, the development of food processing and the strengthening of the region’s export potential, InterFood Astana is becoming an important entry point for international business into the markets of Kazakhstan and Central Asian countries.

Over the three days of the exhibition, 2,094 industry professionals from Kazakhstan and foreign countries visited the event. Participants noted the high level of the professional audience, the practical value of business contacts and the growing market interest in modern technologies for food processing, packaging, storage and automation of food production. Visitors’ impressions confirmed the high level of organization and the relevance of the presented exposition.

This year, 61 companies from 14 countries took part in the exhibition, including Austria, Belarus, Vietnam, Germany, Georgia, Kazakhstan, China, Malaysia, the UAE, Poland, Russia, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. The international exposition featured 35 foreign companies, while Kazakhstan was represented by 26 enterprises. Special attention from visitors was attracted by the national group of the Republic of Belarus, as well as regional collective stands of the Russian Federation — the Voronezh, Orenburg and Smolensk regions.

One of the key features of InterFood Astana 2026 was the large number of new international companies considering Kazakhstan as a promising destination for business development and expansion of partnership networks in Central Asia. Among the most notable exhibition debutants were ANDRITZ AG from Austria, AF Compressors Middle East FZE from the UAE, Aicon X-Ray GmbH from Germany, Navruz International Corp from Uzbekistan, Pacific Fish Processing Co., Ltd. from Thailand, Power Root from Malaysia, RichHot Spices from China, TAREEQ AL-KAWTHE from Poland, Belaseptika from Belarus, Intercap from Russia and many other companies interested in developing partnerships in the Kazakhstan market.

The exposition covered a wide range of food industry sectors — from food production and processing to packaging solutions, quality control systems, ingredients, spices and automation technologies. Particular interest among the professional audience was generated by solutions in the field of food processing, production modernization, increasing enterprise efficiency and the development of export-oriented production. “For us, the exhibition is always professionally valuable — here we can discover new products, technologies, ingredients and modern industry solutions that can be applied for the benefit of the sector’s development,” noted Saule Baitukenova, Professor of the Department of “Technology and Standardization”.

Exhibitors also emphasized the high quality of business contacts and the practical value of the event for developing sales and partnerships: “We managed to attract both end customers who came to learn about the products and potential business partners — representatives of online stores, retail chains and wholesale-retail businesses. During the exhibition, there was a lot of useful communication, new contacts and positive meetings”, shared Olesya Yudintseva, Director of PolyArs Company.

An important part of InterFood Astana 2026 was its extensive business program, which brought together representatives of business, government institutions, industry associations and international experts. One of the key events was the MEAT & DAIRY INDUSTRY FORUM dedicated to the development of Kazakhstan’s meat and dairy industries, production modernization, investments and the market’s export potential. Strategic session partners included the Association of Legal Entities “Meat Union of Kazakhstan” and the Association of Legal Entities “Dairy Union of Kazakhstan”.

As part of the discussions, industry experts noted the steady growth in demand for meat products and the need for further development of domestic processing. “The Meat Union of Kazakhstan believes that there will be no new price shock in the meat market for now, despite inflation and growing demand”, stated Maksut Baktibayev, General Director of the Union, in comments to the media.

Within the framework of the panel session “Raw Milk Quality and the Economics of Kazakhstan’s Dairy Industry: from Raw Material Base and Modernization to Competitiveness and Export”, experts discussed current issues related to improving raw material quality, implementing modern processing technologies, increasing productivity and strengthening the competitiveness of Kazakh dairy products in foreign markets.

According to Arman Nurgozhayev, Deputy General Director for Commercial Affairs at Aksai Bread and Bakery Plant LLP, the exhibition became an important tool for developing partnerships and strengthening the company’s market position thanks to the high level of organization and professional audience: “Our impressions of the exhibition are very positive. The event is organized at a high level, and the number of visitors and potential clients fully met our expectations”.

Holding InterFood Astana 2026 became an important contribution to the development of international cooperation, the promotion of modern food processing technologies and the strengthening of business ties between market participants.

The event received official support from the Akimat of the city of Astana, DAMU Fund, Astana Tourism Development Center LLP and Visit Astana.

The event is organized by the Kazakh exhibition company Iteca jointly with its international partner, ICA Events Group.