Kazakhstan’s Middle Corridor Surges Past 4.5 Million Tonnes as First UK Fertilizer Route

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Kazakhstan has opened a new fertilizer export route to the United Kingdom and resumed European jet fuel imports through Georgia, pushing total cargo volumes on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route past 4.5 million tonnes annually as the Middle Corridor strengthens its position as a key Eurasian logistics artery.

The two developments, both announced in late July and early August 2026, diversify the cargo mix moving along the corridor. State railway operator Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) organized the first multimodal shipment of mineral fertilizers from Ekibastuz in northeastern Kazakhstan to Felixstowe in the United Kingdom. Simultaneously, KazTransOil restarted jet fuel transshipment at its Batumi Oil Terminal after an eight-year hiatus, receiving an inaugural 10,000 tonne shipment of JET A-1 produced by European refineries.

The fertilizer shipment will travel by rail across Kazakhstan, cross the Caspian Sea by ferry, and continue through Azerbaijan and Georgia before reaching the Black Sea ports of Poti or Batumi for the final maritime leg to the UK. KTZ said the route offers competitive delivery times and strengthens supply chain resilience for domestic producers seeking European markets.

At Batumi, the jet fuel arrival reverses the traditional flow of commodities from east to west. KazTransOil stated that the resumption expands the terminal’s logistics capabilities and promotes freight transportation along the Middle Corridor. The cargo arrived by vessel across the Black Sea and is currently stored at the terminal before onward rail transport to Kazakhstan, where domestic refineries are projected to produce only 750,000 tonnes of aviation fuel against demand expected to reach 1.18 million tonnes in 2026.

The new cargo lanes build on rapid volume growth that has reshaped Eurasian logistics since 2022. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport, freight volumes along the route have increased more than fivefold over the past seven years, rising from 0.8 million tonnes to over 4.5 million tonnes annually. Container transportation reached approximately 77,000 TEUs in 2025, with authorities targeting 300,000 TEUs by 2029.

Aset Nusupov, Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Trade and Integration, said 125 container trains transited the route in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 34.4% increase compared to the same period last year. The Xi’an to Alat Port route alone handled 85 trains during the same period, double the prior year figure. Nusupov noted that delivery times have nearly halved, dropping from 28 to 32 days to 11 to 13 days, while the geography of cargo origins has broadened beyond Xi’an to include Zhengzhou, Yiwu, Hefei, Wuhan, Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou.

Kazakhstan is spending heavily to keep pace with rising demand. Dredging has been completed at Kuryk Port on the Caspian Sea, while similar works are planned at Aktau Port to address falling water levels that have restricted vessel loading. A new container hub at Aktau and a 120,000 TEU terminal at Poti in Georgia, operated by Kazakh interests, are already operational. The government has deployed roughly half of a projected $10 billion infrastructure budget through 2030, including new railway lines and a contract for 270 locomotives from China.

KTZ has introduced a synchronized transportation model that aligns rail and maritime schedules, eliminating additional cargo accumulation and reducing handling times. The system has been applied to 28 container trains bound for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey since January 2026.

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia continue to coordinate under joint roadmaps adopted in 2022 and 2025 to eliminate remaining bottlenecks. The European Union has allocated grants for berth reconstruction at Aktau Port, including wind-resistant ship-to-shore cranes. Talgat Aldybergenov, chairman of KTZ, said land transport offers “higher reliability and more predictable delivery times” compared with sea freight, and that Chinese customers’ interest “is growing day by day.”

KazTransOil said its Batumi terminal handled approximately 725,000 tonnes of petroleum products in the first half of 2026 and can process up to 11 million tonnes annually across its 132 storage tanks.