ALMATY, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan has maintained a steady positive trend in key production indicators and growth in the number of farm animals in the January-April period, official data showed.

Kazakhstan produced 338,200 tonnes of meat, measured in slaughter weight, in the first four months of 2026, up 3.4 percent year on year, the country's Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday.

Positive production results were supported by high export figures from the previous year, the ministry noted, adding that in 2025, exports of Kazakh beef increased by 1.5 times to 32,300 tonnes, while mutton supplies abroad grew by 1.9 times to 34,500 tonnes.

In breakdown, beef production rose by 6,500 tonnes to 112,900 tonnes, mutton output reached 34,700 tonnes, an increase of 2,600 tonnes, while horse meat production grew by 1,400 tonnes to 39,800 tonnes, the ministry said.

As of May 1, the country's cattle herd stood at 9.8 million head, up 3.4 percent from a year earlier. Sheep numbers stood at 23.4 million head, while the horse population grew to 5.1 million head, up 7.1 percent year on year. The number of camels and poultry also rose slightly by 2.4 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

The gross output of livestock farming in the country exceeded 1.1 trillion tenge (around 2.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the first four months of this year.