Over the past week and month, prices for staple foods in Kazakhstan have remained nearly unchanged on average, but over the year they have risen by 2.2%. However, certain product categories in different regions could have gained or lost up to half their value, reports infohub.kz.
The Bureau of National Statistics (BNS) has released data on the price index for socially significant food products (SSFP). According to the data, the overall price increase was 2.2% year-on-year and 1.5% since the beginning of 2026. Over the month and week, average prices did not rise, except in cities such as Zhezkazgan (+0.4%), Kostanay (+0.2%), Aktau and Karaganda (both +0.1%).
However, certain food categories have significantly increased in price over the year, which affects household spending. The rate of increase depends on the specific region.
The largest year-on-year increases were recorded for the following items: potatoes rose by 27.5%, with the highest growth in Petropavlovsk at 115.4%, Aktobe at 59.8%, and Semey at 42.9%. Carrots increased by 26.6%, with leaders in Petropavlovsk (+76%), Semey (+49%), and Karaganda (+48%). Onions became 22% more expensive, especially in Petropavlovsk (+51%), Aktobe (+48.2%), and Uralsk (+46.5%). Lamb, including boneless, rose by 21.4%, with the highest increases in Kostanay (+45.2%), Uralsk (+43.4%), and Pavlodar (+35.5%). Salt, except for the "extra" variety, went up by 13.5%, most notably in Taraz (+29.4%), Kokshetau (+29%), and Kyzylorda (+22.5%). Cottage cheese with 5–9% fat content rose by 10.4%, with prices in Atyrau and Taldykorgan up 27.2%, and in Aktau by 26.2%. Kefir with 2–3% fat content became 11.4% more expensive, especially in Aktau (+23.8%), Uralsk (+18.9%), and Aktobe (+18.5%). Butter rose by 10.5%, with the largest increases in Taldykorgan (+22.2%), Atyrau (+15.6%), and Astana (+15.3%). Ground meat rose by 10.5%, with leaders in Almaty (+21.6%), Zhezkazgan (+14.9%), and Atyrau (+14.4%).
Over the week, among the listed items, prices only fell for onions (-7.2%), carrots (-4.6%), and potatoes (-3.2%). Other products, except tomatoes (+2.8%), rose by less than 1%.
Among goods that became cheaper over the year, cucumbers showed a record decline of 44.8%. The leader in price reduction was Konayev (-72.7%), with prices also falling by more than half in Karaganda (-62.4%), Turkistan (-55.8%), Atyrau (-53.7%), and Kyzylorda (-53%). Tomatoes fell by 5.5% on average nationwide, but in some regions the decline was sharp: in Kyzylorda (-43.7%), Atyrau (-42.6%), Konayev (-36.1%), and Aktau (-31.4%). Apples lost 7.1% in price, with the largest decreases in Konayev (-30.8%), Petropavlovsk (-23.2%), Karaganda (-22.5%), Turkistan (-20.8%), and Kokshetau (-18.6%). Polished rice fell by 3.3%, most notably in Karaganda (-15.5%), Uralsk (-9.6%), Kostanay (-9%), Petropavlovsk (-8.1%), and Semey (-7.9%).
Thus, socially significant food products over the last week (from August 26 to September 2) and even over the month have remained practically unchanged in price on average. On an annual basis, prices rose by 2.2%, but depending on the region, certain product categories could have significantly increased.