Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Following the results of January-August 2019, the foreign trade turnover of Uzbekistan made up US$28.43 billion and increased by US$7,91 billion, or 38.6% more than the corresponding period of last year.

According to the State Statistics Committee, of this number, exports reached US$12.46 billion (growth rate - 46.7%), while imports reached US$15.97 billion (growth rate - 32.8%). A passive balance of foreign trade in the amount of US$3.5 billion was recorded.

Uzbekistan maintains trade relations with more than 181 countries of the world. The largest volume of its foreign trade turnover among the countries of the world was recorded with China (18.4%), the Russian Federation (14.5%), Kazakhstan (8.1%), the Republic of Korea (6.5%), Turkey (5.7% ), Germany (2.3%) and Kyrgyzstan (2.0%).

An analysis of the dynamics of foreign trade turnover also showed growth and in January-August 2019, it made up US$28.43 billion, which, compared to the same period of last year, increased by US$7.91 billion.

Positive changes are observed in the structural dynamics of foreign trade turnover. So, compared to the same period of last year, the share of exports in foreign trade grew by 2.4 percentage points.

Due to traditional trade relations with the CIS countries and comprehensive support of foreign trade, the share of mutual trade with the CIS member states in the foreign trade turnover of Uzbekistan in January-August 2019 reached 33.2% (US$9.43 billion), the pace foreign trade turnover growth, compared to the previous year, made up 18.9%.

Current trade relations with other foreign partners also continue to develop. Thus, the share of other countries in foreign trade turnover in the reporting period reached 66.8% (US$18,99 billion), the growth rate of foreign trade turnover, compared to the same period of last year, made up 50.9%.

Among the 20 major partner countries in foreign economic activity, there is an active balance of foreign trade with five countries, in particular with such countries as Kyrgyzstan (US$388.1 million), Afghanistan (US$359.9 million), Tajikistan (US$88.6 million), France (US$35.4 million) and Iran (US$8.6 million). For the remaining 15 countries, a passive balance of foreign trade is maintained.

The geography of partner countries for the export of goods and services compared with the same period of last year increased from 145 to 166 countries.

The composition of exported goods among large export partner countries includes a group of energy carriers and oil products, chemical products and products from it, as well as food products.

The volume of export of services in January-August 2019 made up US$2,19 billion, or 17.6% of its total volume and increased by 10.9% compared to the same period of last year. In the export of services, the lion’s share is occupied by transport services and travel (tourism), as well as telecommunications, information, computer and financial services.

The volume of export of fruits and vegetables in physical terms made up more than 938,400 tons and, in value terms, US$870.2 million (growth rates, compared to the same period of last year, made up 19.3% and 47, respectively. 2%). Of these, more than 594,000 tons of vegetables were exported in the amount of US$429.8 million, as well as 344,400 tons of fruits and berries in the amount of US$440.4 million (pace growth in value terms, compared with the same period of last year, respectively made up 92.3% and 19.8%).

Due to the fact that our government pays considerable attention to the development of agriculture and horticulture, the quality and volume of exported goods are increasing from year to year. So, in January-August 2019, the share of fruits and vegetables in total exports made up 7.0%.

In January-August 2019, the volume of exports of textile products made up US$1.05 billion and increased, compared to the same period in 2018, by 20.5%, which reached 8.4% of total exports. Of the structure of export of textile products, the main share is cotton yarn (56.8%), as well as finished knitwear and garments (23.6%). Since the beginning of the year, more than 376 types of goods have been exported to 56 countries.

As a result of practical work to diversify the textile industry of the republic and stimulate the export of finished products, our country’s potential in this area is growing. The largest share of textile exports is to the Russian Federation (US$402.2 million - 38.3%), China (US$282.7 million - 27.0%) and Turkey (US$113.4 million - 10.8%).

In January-August 2019, the volume of imports in the Republic of Uzbekistan made up US$15.97 billion (growth rate - 32.8%). The main share in its structure is occupied by machinery and equipment, including parts and accessories (44.9%), chemical products and products from it (12.8%), as well as food products (7.7%).

An analysis of the structure of imported goods and services in January-August 2019 also showed that, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the share of imports of machinery and equipment, including parts and accessories, in its total volume increased from 40.3% to 44.9 %, and the share of food imports decreased from 9.1% to 7.7%.

The largest share of imports of energy and oil products (95.2%), non-ferrous metals and products from them (66.1%), food products (65.9%), as well as ferrous metals and products from them (65.5%) accounted for by the CIS countries, while in other foreign countries the lion’s share falls on machinery and equipment (88.8%), as well as on chemical products and products from it (78.8%).

An analysis of the dynamics of imports of goods and services also showed that in January-August 2019, compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, the volume of imports of goods increased by US$3.83 billion and made up US$14.38 billion. Service imports reached US$1.58 billion.

According to the results of the reporting period, China ranked first among the major import partner countries with a share of imports in the total volume of 20.2%, ahead of the Russian Federation with a share of 15.8%. Due to the accelerated growth in imports by the Republic of Uzbekistan, Singapore (with a growth rate of 8.5 p. More than the same period of last year) and Iran (73.6%.) Were in the top twenty countries of the major import partner countries.

According to the results of January-August 2019, goods and services from 149 countries were imported to the Republic of Uzbekistan. Seven major partner countries (China, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Germany, and the United States) account for 67.9% of total imports, representing more than US$10.83 billion.

The volume of imports of services in January-August 2019 made up US$1.58 billion, or 9.9% of the total volume of imports, and increased by 7.8% compared to the same period of last year. The main share in the import of services is travel (tourism), transport services, as well as telecommunications, information and computer services.

In January-August 2019, the volume of imports of building materials made up US$877.6 million. The United States also increased, compared to the same period in 2018, by 16.2%. The share of imports of building materials in their total volume reached 5.5%. The main share in the structure of imports of building materials is made up of wood and wood products (45.8%), cement (13.7%), glass and wood products (4.7%), and asbestos (2.2%).

The volume of imports of building materials in January-August 2019, compared to the corresponding period of 2018, increased significantly. The growth in imports of these materials is primarily associated with large-scale construction and reconstruction work carried out in the republic.

The growing import of machinery and equipment is a reflection of industrialization policies, as well as an active reform to support foreign direct investment in the creation, modernization and increase of production capacities. Below is information about major partner countries exporting machinery, equipment, chemical products to Uzbekistan and having a major share in the country’s imports.