Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover hits $57.4 billion in eight months as imports outpace exports

Energy exports totaled $1.05 billion, up 4.3%. Oil and petroleum products accounted for more than half of the total at $593.1 million, up 46.3%. Natural gas exports fell 34.8% to $322.3 million, while electricity exports rose 25.2% to $139.2 million.

Exports of machinery and equipment increased 43% to $899.8 million. Electrical appliances and equipment led the category at $228.5 million (+44.5%). Vehicle exports rose 9.1% to $195.3 million, while exports of vehicle parts and accessories increased 3.9% to $157.5 million.

Services exports reached $8.54 billion, accounting for 37.4% of total exports and rising 33.8% year on year. Travel and tourism services led with $4.62 billion, followed by transport services at $2.6 billion and IT services at $716.4 million.

Imports

Machinery and equipment remained the largest import category, reaching $11.26 billion, up 17.3% year on year.

Vehicles and other means of transport accounted for $2.82 billion (+30%), while electrical equipment totaled $1.78 billion (+29.6%). Imports of general-purpose industrial equipment amounted to $1.62 billion, down 0.7%, while purchases of specialized machinery fell 17.5% to $1.62 billion.

Imports of communications and audio equipment rose 78.5% to $1.14 billion, while energy-generating equipment increased 39.1% to $1.18 billion.

Imports of vehicle parts and accessories reached $1.23 billion (+10.1%), while passenger cars and other vehicles rose 72.6% to $1.1 billion.

Industrial goods ranked second among import categories at $5.08 billion, up 8%. Imports of iron and steel stood at $1.98 billion, down 1%, while non-ferrous metal imports rose 75% to $708.3 million. Imports of textile yarn and fabrics increased 9.4% to $407.4 million, and cork and wood products rose 26.6% to $359.3 million. Metal products totaled $690.4 million (+0.9%), while imports of rubber products fell 2.6% to $359.2 million.

Imports of chemical products rose 16.4% to $4.16 billion. Purchases of medical and pharmaceutical products amounted to $1.27 billion, down 0.7%, while imports of primary plastics rose 13.2% to $761.8 million. Chemical materials and products accounted for $654.5 million, up 33.3%.

Food imports increased 39.3% to $3.71 billion. Grain accounted for $967.4 million (+58.9%), followed by meat and meat products at $677.4 million (+34.2%), sugar and confectionery at $476 million (+43.9%), fruit and vegetables at $381.6 million (+29.7%), and coffee, tea, cocoa and spices at $361.2 million (+23.1%).

Imports of fuel and energy products rose 7.2% to $2.75 billion. Oil and petroleum products accounted for $1.35 billion (+3.2%), including $1.01 billion in fuels and lubricants, down 1%.

Gasoline imports increased 48.6% to $437.4 million, while diesel imports fell 12.3% to $179.5 million. Gas imports rose 15.2% to $1.21 billion, with propane accounting for $124.3 million – 3.5 times more than a year earlier.

Coal imports totaled $124.9 million (+0.2%), while electricity imports fell 24.1% to $57.5 million.

Imports of services reached $4.58 billion, up 14% year on year and accounting for 13.3% of total imports. Travel and tourism services remained the largest segment at $1.87 billion, followed by transport services at $1.48 billion, other business services at $444 million and IT services at $386.9 million.