Electric vehicles, green energy, artificial intelligence, and new gadgets require rare elements found in Kazakhstan. The main buyer has become China. This is reported by NUR.KZ.

According to the International Trade Centre (ITC), in 2025 Kazakhstan's exports of critical raw materials reached $16.9 billion, accounting for 21.4% of the country's total exports. The largest buyer remains China — $7.5 billion, or about 44% of all CRM exports. Analysts at Tradereport note that Kazakhstan needs to develop deeper processing of raw materials domestically to increase export revenue and strengthen its position in global supply chains.

Driven by global trends in new technologies and green energy, demand for CRM has surged. These include not only rare earth metals but also other strategically important components: copper, aluminum, chromium, zinc, lithium, cobalt, and others.

According to the Tradereport Telegram channel, Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the key suppliers in the global supply chain, with China as the main buyer. "According to estimates from the International Trade Centre (ITC), in 2025 Kazakhstan's exports of critical raw materials reached $16.9 billion. The largest buyer remains China – $7.5 billion, or nearly 44% of all exports. Next come Russia ($2.6 billion), Turkey ($1.9 billion), the United Kingdom ($768 million), Uzbekistan ($597 million), Kyrgyzstan ($464 million), and Japan ($432 million)," analysts point out.

CRM accounted for 21.4% of the country's total exports in 2025. Although Kazakhstan's global share in this sector is only about 0.7–0.8% of worldwide supplies, the country's role on the global market is growing.

The main exports were raw materials: cathodes and sections of cathodes of copper ($3.58 billion), copper ores and concentrates ($2.85 billion), ferrochromium ($1.65 billion), silver ($740 million), unwrought zinc ($619 million), refined copper ($518 million), unwrought aluminum ($517 million), aluminum oxide ($427 million), flat-rolled products of iron or steel ($364 million), and iron ores and concentrates ($360 million).

"That is why the next stage of development should be expanding deep processing within the country. The production of copper cathode, battery materials, special alloys, and other high value-added products will increase export revenue, create new jobs, and strengthen Kazakhstan's position in global production chains," Tradereport notes.