There’s a growing discussion on social media that Kazakhstanis have allegedly started buying pork more often due to high prices of beef, which is almost twice as expensive. Social-media users claim the price difference has defined the consumer choice. Orda.kz investigated whether this is true.
According to a meat vendor, “It’s not that everyone has switched to pork. There are customers who buy it if they’re not Muslim or for cafes. But generally, people have started buying less beef and are choosing chicken more often—it’s cheaper.”
Vendors are not so much reporting an increase in interest in pork as a decline in demand for beef and an increase in sales of more affordable chicken.
Maksut Baktibayev, Chairman of the Meat Union of Kazakhstan, notes that the country’s meat consumption patterns have changed in recent years: Kazakhstanis are eating less beef and are increasingly choosing more affordable poultry. “Beef consumption has fallen from 27 kg per capita in 2015-2016 to approximately 20 kg and below in 2025. This is due to the fact that household incomes have not kept pace with rising red meat prices. The cost of beef is higher: its production requires approximately seven kilograms of feed compared to 2-2.5 kg for pork, making it more expensive,” Baktibayev explained.
According to him, the rise in beef prices is also due to a decline in livestock numbers: farmers have been operating at a loss for a long time and have reduced their herds, which has ultimately led to a meat shortage on the domestic market. The expert added that prices will likely rise in line with rising inflation, and the decline in beef consumption will be more noticeable in regions with lower incomes.
photo: gov.kz
