Turkey bought coking coal from Kazakhstan in July 2026 for the first time since the start of the year, importing 48,800 tonnes of Kazakh raw material during the month, while coking coal supplies from Russia came to a complete halt in July, the website infohub.kz reports.
The news was reported by Kommersant, citing data from the Turkish Statistical Institute as published by SteelOrbis.
Russian coking coal shipments to Turkey fell 29.9% in January-July 2026 to 224,500 tonnes. In July, Russian supplies stopped entirely. Russia's share of the Turkish market over the seven months stood at about 7%. At the same time, the United States increased its exports to Turkey by 70.4%, to 1.9 million tonnes, while Australia cut shipments by 38%, to 770,100 tonnes.
Against this backdrop, Turkey began buying coking coal from new suppliers. In July, it imported 48,800 tonnes of Kazakh coal for the first time since the start of 2026. It also received 82,500 tonnes from the United Kingdom during the month. According to SteelOrbis, Kazakhstan supplied the same 48,800 tonnes to Turkey in January-July — before that, there had been no shipments of Kazakh coking coal in 2025.
Experts cited by Kommersant attribute the shift in the supply structure in part to reduced availability of Russian coal and logistical constraints in the Black Sea. Russian suppliers, meanwhile, continue to redirect part of their volumes to eastern destinations.
Against this backdrop, Kazakh coking coal shipments look like the emergence of a new destination on the Turkish market. However, a single month is not enough to conclude that Russian supplies are being replaced over the long term.
At the same time, Kazakhstan's trade with Turkey has grown markedly overall. According to the Bureau of National Statistics, trade between the two countries totalled $4.7 billion in January-July 2026, up from $2.9 billion a year earlier. Growth reached 62.4%.
Kazakh exports made the main contribution, rising 91.7% to $3.9 billion. Imports from Turkey, by contrast, fell 6.5% to $815.9 million. Turkey increased its share of Kazakhstan's total exports to 7.7%, and its share of the republic's total foreign trade turnover to 5.4%.
In 2025, Turkey's financial sector grew faster than inflation. The country's financial markets are stabilising after the authorities abandoned unorthodox monetary policy. Amid the sector's recovery, two major players from Kazakhstan showed interest in Turkish financial institutions.