Kazakhstan continues to benefit from its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), even as a strengthening Russian ruble contributes to domestic inflation, according to a senior economic advisor to the Kazakh prime minister.
In an interview with the Tengrinews portal, Alisher Kozhasbayev acknowledged the direct impact of the Russian currency's exchange rate. "Prices are rising; this is visible every day. But there are also external factors that have a direct influence... One of them is the ruble's exchange rate," Kozhasbayev stated. "About 40% of our food products are imported from Russia... meaning our prices for imports from Russia are increasing, and this is a daily, consumed inflation that everyone feels."
Despite this pressure, the advisor argued that Kazakhstan's participation in the single market with Russia is ultimately a mitigating factor. He explained that being part of the EAEU, which eliminates customs duties between member states, helps contain price growth.
"Kazakhstan's presence in a single economic space with Russia helps, rather than hinders," Kozhasbayev said. "If customs duties existed between Kazakhstan and Russia, on top of the current [tenge] exchange rate weakness, prices would have risen even more sharply. These duties do not exist now, and this is a restraining factor. Otherwise, the situation would be far more painful for consumers."
He further illustrated the union's benefits by noting that within the EAEU, it is more cost-effective for southern Kazakhstan to source goods from Kyrgyzstan than from its own northern regions.
Kozhasbayev added that the Kazakh government, which had not anticipated the ruble's appreciation, is implementing urgent measures to stabilize prices, including a moratorium on utility and fuel price hikes.
The Russian ruble, which long traded at a ratio of roughly 1 to 5 against the Kazakh tenge, has strengthened significantly, reaching up to 6.7 tenge per ruble in 2025. The official exchange rate set by the National Bank of Kazakhstan for October 31 is 6.58 tenge per ruble.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Ken and Nyetta/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS