Uzbekistan boosts gas exports to China while cutting imports from Russia and Turkmenistan

From January to July 2025, Uzbekistan imported more gas than it exported, according to data from the National Statistics Committee.

In the first seven months, imports of natural gas from Turkmenistan and Russia decreased by 30.6% – to $734 million. While gas imports stood at $27.8 million in January, they fell to $8 million in February and to $2.7 million in March. In April, imports rose to $112 million, in May – to $135 million, in June – to $286.3 million, before declining again to $162.2 million in July.

Since the start of the year, gas exports to China increased by 38.2% – reaching $438.6 million. Specifically, exports amounted to $21.8 million in January, $20.2 million in February, $52.3 million in March, $105.4 million in April, $88.3 million in May, $66.9 million in June, and $83.7 million in July.

However, figures from the National Statistics Committee differ slightly from those of China’s General Administration of Customs, which reported that Uzbekistan exported $460 million worth of gas from January to May – 51.2% higher than the same period last year.

Chinese customs also reported a month-on-month decrease of 8.95% in natural gas imports from Uzbekistan – from $103.72 million in June to $94.43 million in July (a 36.49% increase compared to July 2024).

Russia remained the leading supplier of gas to China, exporting $5.69 billion worth of natural gas in the first seven months of this year. Turkmenistan ranked second with $4.95 billion, followed by Myanmar ($922.1 million), Kazakhstan ($599.5 million), and smaller volumes from the United States and Italy.