Uzbekistan almost doubled gold exports in July

In January-July, the volume of Uzbekistan's foreign trade reached $34.97 billion, which is 23.3% more than in the same period last year, the Statistics Agency said.

Exports amounted to $14.95 billion, having increased by 31% compared to last year. Imports grew somewhat slower – only by 18.1% - but still significantly exceeded exports at $20.02 billion.

Revenue from gold supplies in July increased significantly to $5.63 billion. Exports of precious metals are almost twice as high as in 2022.

As a result of the growing export of gold, the negative balance of foreign trade decreased by almost $500 million – from $5.45 to $5.06 billion.

During the reporting period, Uzbekistan’s main trade partner was China, trade with which amounted to $6.89 billion or 19.7% of the total foreign trade. 

Russia held second place in Uzbekistan’s FTT with $5.27 billion. It remained the largest export market for Uzbekistan ($1.63 billion). Third place was occupied by Kazakhstan ($2.49 billion), followed by Turkiye ($1.86 billion) and South Korea ($1.27 billion).

Trade with France has grown sharply – in seven months it amounted to $517.6 million, almost three times more than in the same period last year. Moreover, Uzbekistan’s exports to France increased by more than 3.5 times – from $67 to $239.5 million.

Export

Excluding gold, manufactured goods remain the main product of Uzbekistan’s commodity export. Even taking into account the reduction in their supplies by 9.4%, they brought $2.44 billion in revenue – 16% of all export earnings.

Half of this amount, in turn, was provided by textiles and fabrics ($1.24 billion, -12.8%). The export of non-ferrous metals significantly decreased - to $809.6 million (-13.4%). However, deliveries of iron and steel almost doubled ($135 million).

Food exports rose by a third to $1.02 billion. Fruits, vegetables ($688.4 million, +26.1%) and cereals ($281.3 million, +70%) accounted for the lion's share.

In consumer products, revenue was $733 million, or a quarter more than last year. Thus, the export of clothing reached $624.5 million, and other finished goods - $54.5 million (+29%).

Deliveries of engineering products approached $700 million (+45.9%). Exports of automobiles and auto components increased by 38.4% ($260 million), and electrical engineering products - by more than a third ($130.5 million). Deliveries of communication and sound recording devices reached $65.8 million.

The export of chemical products slightly decreased - $692 million. The main reason was the drop in the supply of fertilizers ($154 million) and plastics ($139.9 million), while revenue from inorganic substances increased by 33% - to $291.1 million.

Commodity exports are more than 20% below last year's levels. Thus, revenue from gas ($341.9 million) fell by more than a third, and from electricity ($47.2 million) by almost a quarter. On the other hand, deliveries of oil and oil products increased by 73.1% to $142.7 million.

Import

In the structure of imports of goods, as before, engineering products are in the lead with $7.51 billion (+33.8%). Almost $832.8 million (+80.7%) was spent on car imports and another $801.8 million - on car parts. More than $2.5 billion was spent on special machines for industrial purposes.

The second place is occupied by manufactured goods - $3.38 billion. Supplies of iron and steel fell by 6.3% - to $1.35 billion. Imports of fabrics grew by almost a third ($380.7 million) and rubber products by 57.5% ($301.7 million).

Chemical products are in third place with $2.7 billion. Imports of fertilizers increased 2.3 times, to $114.4 million. At the same time, supplies of medical and pharmaceutical products decreased slightly, to $840.1 million.

Food imports amounted to $1.96 billion (+7.3%). Uzbekistan imported $669.6 million (+16.1%) worth of grain during the reporting period. The republic spent $326.1 million (+13.3%) on sugar and confectionery imports, and $198.5 million (+26.5%) on coffee, tea, cocoa and spices.

Uzbekistan also significantly increased the import of fuels and lubricants. Imports of oil and oil products rose by almost 60% ($1 billion), and coal – by 56.6% ($98 million).