Food security remains one of the key issues facing the world. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, amid military conflicts and disruptions to global logistics, the importance of domestic food production has grown further. Yet complete self-sufficiency, even across basic food groups, remains extremely rare.
According to a Nature Food study conducted by researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and Edinburgh and published in 2025, only one of the 186 countries covered by the study — Guyana — produces enough domestically to meet its needs across all seven major food groups: fruits; vegetables; dairy products; fish; meat; pulses, nuts and seeds; and starchy foods, such as grains and potatoes. Two other countries, China and Vietnam, are self-sufficient in six of the seven food groups. Neither China nor Vietnam meets its dairy needs through current domestic production. Dairy self-sufficiency stands at 40%–60% in China and at up to 20% in Vietnam.
Against this backdrop, Central Asian countries are relatively well positioned, though not fully self-sufficient. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are self-sufficient in five major food groups, Turkmenistan in four, and Tajikistan in three. Vegetables, dairy products and meat are common strengths across the region: every Central Asian economy achieves full self-sufficiency in these categories. Fish, by contrast, is a shared weak point, with self-sufficiency of no more than 20% in all five countries.
Kazakhstan also meets its domestic needs for pulses, nuts and seeds, as well as starchy foods. Fruit self-sufficiency, however, remains low, at up to 20% of domestic needs. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, is fully self-sufficient in fruits and starchy foods, while its self-sufficiency in pulses, nuts and seeds stands at 20%–40%. Kyrgyzstan meets its needs for pulses, nuts and seeds, as well as starchy foods, while fruit self-sufficiency stands at 40%–60%.
In addition to the three food groups in which all Central Asian countries are self-sufficient, Turkmenistan meets its needs for starchy foods. Its fruit self-sufficiency is close to full, at 80%–100%, although it formally remains below the 100% threshold. Self-sufficiency in pulses, nuts and seeds stands at up to 20%. Tajikistan has the fewest food groups in which domestic production fully meets demand among the countries of the region. Its self-sufficiency in fruits and starchy foods stands at 60%–80%, while the figure for pulses, nuts and seeds is 40%–60%.
Viewed as a region of complementary economies, Central Asia presents a broader picture: collectively, the five countries cover six of the seven major food groups. Fish remains the common weak point for all five countries, but strong intra-Central Asian trade helps cover neighboring countries’ needs across all other categories.
