Kazakhstan’s GDP growth for January-February 2025 hits 5.4%Kazakhstan’s GDP grew by 5.4% in the first two months of 2025, according to a report from the government press service.Prime Minister Olzhas Bektanov held a meeting with economic ministry leaders, where Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin outlined the country’s socio-economic progress for January and February."The 5.4% GDP growth was driven by improvements in goods production and services. Efforts to unlock industrial potential resulted in a 5.7% increase in industrial output," the statement said.Industrial production rose by 5.7%, with manufacturing up by 8.9%. Key sectors such as machine engineering (18.2%), food production (13.1%), construction materials (21.6%), and metal products (20.1%) saw significant growth. The extractive industry grew by 4.1%.Construction remained strong, with a volume of 408.1 billion tenge and a Physical Volume Index (PVI) of 112.8%. The trade sector grew by 6%, and transport and storage services rose by 21.3%. High growth in wholesale trade, particularly in grain and animal feed, saw a 480% increase, along with pharmaceuticals (up by 44.6%) and vehicles and light motor vehicles (up by 38.8%), contributing significantly to the overall economy. Grain transportation increased by 43%, reaching 2.4 million tons.The government also highlighted the positive results from the value-added processing sector. Exports of high-value-added products, including compound feeds, grew fivefold to 273,000 tonnes from 56,000 tonnes in 2024. Exports of vegetable oil increased by 28% to 94,000 tonnes.The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of maintaining growth momentum and outlined areas for improvement to meet planned targets.Earlier, the National Bank of Kazakhstan revised its GDP growth forecast for 2025-2026, lowering it to 4.2-5.2% due to factors including a revised oil production forecast. Despite this, strong domestic demand in the oil sector is expected to support growth.In 2027, Kazakhstan's GDP growth is expected to align with potential levels, reaching up to 4.5% amid tax and budget consolidation, according to the macroeconomic regulator.Previously, the National Bank of Kazakhstan forecasted a GDP growth of 4.5-5.5% for 2025 and 4.6-5.6% for 2026 in its baseline scenario. In the pessimistic scenario, GDP growth for 2025 is expected to be between 3.7% and 4.7%, and between 4.5% and 5.5% for 2026. The optimistic scenario projected a growth of 5.1-6.1% in 2025 and 4.7-5.7% in 2026.The World Bank forecasts a 4.7% GDP growth for Kazakhstan in 2025 and 3.5% in 2026.Kazakhstan's economy grew by 4.8% in 2024 and 5.1% in 2023. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX