According to data from the National Statistics Committee, between January and June, imports of natural gas rose by 41.4% year-on-year to $971.7 million. Of that amount, $86.3 million was spent on liquefied petroleum gas (propane), with imports increasing 3.6-fold compared to the same period last year.
Monthly gas imports fluctuated throughout the first half of the year. After reaching $167.6 million in January, imports fell sharply to $34.6 million in February before recovering to $158.3 million in March. They totaled $147.8 million in April, climbed to $216.4 million in May, and reached a record $247 million in June – the highest monthly figure recorded so far this year.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan's gas exports fell by 34.4% year-on-year to $232.9 million during the first six months of 2026.
Exports were completely suspended in January and resumed in February at $7.1 million. They then rose to $29.4 million in March before tripling to $92.7 million in April. Exports eased to $73.5 million in May and dropped further to $30 million in June, matching the lowest monthly level since February.
The National Statistics Committee's export data differs notably from figures released by China's General Administration of Customs. According to the Chinese customs authority, Uzbekistan exported $218.7 million worth of natural gas to China between January and June, more than $14.2 million less than reported by the Uzbek statistics agency.
Chinese customs data also showed that Uzbekistan's gas exports to China declined by 23.7% year-on-year in June to $79.03 million. Compared with the first half of 2025, when exports totaled $368.5 million, shipments fell by more than 40%.
Russia remained China's largest supplier of natural gas during the first half of the year, exporting $4.65 billion worth of gas. Turkmenistan ranked second with $4.01 billion, followed by Myanmar with $741.9 million, Kazakhstan with $442.3 million, and Uzbekistan with $218.7 million.
