Uzbekistan's foreign trade grows to $26 billion

Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover totaled $26.3 billion from January through April 2026. This represents an increase of $1.44 billion, or 5.8%, compared to the previous year, according to data from the National Statistics Committee.

Exports fell by 16.8% to $9.97 billion, while imports rose by 26.7% to $16.36 billion. As a result, the trade deficit widened to $6.38 billion. By comparison, the deficit stood at $930.2 million during the same period in 2025 and at $3.58 billion in 2024.

Excluding exports of non-monetary gold, however, merchandise exports rose by 28.7% year-over-year to $5.01 billion. Despite the overall weaker export figures, this points to continued growth in the non-commodity sectors.

China remains the most important trading partner

China remained Uzbekistan’s most important trading partner, accounting for 23.6% of the country’s total trade volume. Bilateral trade with China totaled $6.23 billion in the first four months of 2026, compared to $4.17 billion the previous year and $3.96 billion in 2024.

Russia followed with a trade volume of $4.52 billion, up from $3.79 billion in 2025 and $3.82 billion in 2024. Trade with Kazakhstan rose from $1.39 billion to $1.81 billion. Other major trading partners included Turkey, with a 3.5% share, and Afghanistan, with 2.8%. In total, Uzbekistan conducted trade with more than 175 countries.

Goods accounted for 65.3% of exports. These included industrial goods (15.0%), chemicals and related products (8.1%), various manufactured goods (7.9%), and foodstuffs and live animals (7.5%).

The main export markets were Russia (14.5%), China (9.2%), Afghanistan (6.5%), France (5.0%), Kazakhstan (4.3%), Turkey (3.6%), the United Arab Emirates (2.7%), Kyrgyzstan (2.5%), and Tajikistan (2.1%). Together, these countries accounted for more than half of Uzbekistan’s total exports.

Gold exports plummet, textiles rise

Exports of non-monetary gold fell significantly to $1.50 billion in the January–April period, after reaching $5.48 billion in the previous year. As a result, gold’s share of total exports dropped from 45.7% to 15.1%.

Exports of fruits and vegetables totaled 489,500 tons, up 5.6% from the previous year. Export revenue for the sector rose by 9.5% to $454.5 million, accounting for 4.6% of total exports.

Textile exports totaled $1 billion, or 10.1% of total exports, representing a 20.2% increase over the previous year. Finished textile products accounted for 50.5% of the export volume, while yarns accounted for 32.5%.

Exports of services rose by 32.6% to $3.46 billion and accounted for 34.7% of total exports. Travel and tourism services contributed 47.8%, transportation services 36.1%, telecommunications and IT services 10.1%, and other business services 2.1%.

Imports rise significantly

In the energy sector, exports of mineral fuels and related products increased by 2.2% to $447.5 million. They thus accounted for 4.5% of total exports. Exports of oil and petroleum products totaled $234.3 million, natural gas exports $129.4 million, and electricity exports $82.8 million.

Fuel imports rose by 25.8% to $1.44 billion, accounting for 8.8% of total imports. Imports of oil and petroleum products reached $821.5 million, including gasoline imports worth $327.1 million. Gas imports totaled $508.3 million.

In total, Uzbekistan imported goods and services worth $16.36 billion during the reporting period—an increase of 26.7% compared to the previous year. The largest import categories were machinery and transport equipment (33.7%), industrial goods (15.3%), and chemicals (12.4%).

Goods imports rose by $3.23 billion to $14.73 billion. Service imports reached $1.63 billion, accounting for 10.0% of total imports and representing a 15.5% year-over-year increase.

The majority of imports came from China (32.4%), Russia (18.8%), Kazakhstan (8.5%), South Korea (3.8%), Turkey (3.4%), India (2.3%), and the United Arab Emirates (2.2%).

In terms of service imports, the travel and tourism sector dominated with 46.4%, followed by transportation services (21.9%), telecommunications and IT services (11.3%), and other business services (9.6%).