Kazakhstan’s GDP grows 6% in January-April, aligning with analysts’ forecastsKazakhstan's economy grew by 6% from January to April 2025, matching analysts' forecasts, the Ministry of National Economy reported Monday.Analysts surveyed by "Interfax-Kazakhstan" had earlier projected growth in the range of 5.4% to 9% for the same period.Key sectors driving the acceleration include transport (22.4%), trade (7%), agriculture (3.9%), and telecommunications (2.6%).According to the Ministry of National Economy, growth in the transport sector was bolstered by increased freight volumes via rail and pipeline transport, which accounted for 20.5% and 19.6% of the sector's total output, respectively. Significant growth rates were recorded in the Turkestan (21.8%), Zhambyl (11.2%), and Abay (14.9%) regions.The construction sector saw a 16.2% increase in the physical work volume index, with calls to accelerate project completion and ensure local coordination to prevent cost overruns.Trade continued its steady growth at 7%, up from 6.3% in the first quarter, driven by a 7.4% increase in wholesale trade and a 6.1% rise in retail trade. Notably, the Turkestan region recorded a 60.4% increase, driven by enterprises selling fruits, vegetables, and pharmaceuticals; the Akmolinsk region saw a 44% rise due to grain, seeds, and animal feed sales; and Shymkent achieved 19.8% growth from diesel fuel, pharmaceuticals, and scrap metal sales.Industrial production index reached 6.4%, driven by a 7.1% increase in the mining sector, notably coal production (11.2%). Manufacturing grew by 7.2%, with significant contributions from food production (12%), tobacco products (26.3%), chemicals (11.2%), and machinery (11.2%).Agriculture demonstrated positive momentum, with a 3.9% increase in gross production index from January to April.Kazakhstan's GDP growth was 5.8% in January-March 2025. The country's central bank forecasts economic growth of 4.2-5.2% for 2025-2026, while the World Bank expects 4.7% growth in 2025 and 3.5% in 2026. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) revised its 2025 forecast downward to 4.9% from 5.1% in September 2024 and maintained a 4.1% forecast for 2026. The IMF also adjusted its 2025 forecast to 4.9% but improved its 2026 forecast to 4.3%. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX