Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover reached us$42.7 billionIn January-August 2024, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover (FTT) amounted to US$42.7 billion, an increase of US$2.7 billion, or 6.6%, compared to the same period in 2023, according to the Statistics Agency.

Of the total FTT, exports amounted to US$17.34 billion (up 5.5% compared to January-August 2023), while imports reached US$25.36 billion (up 7.4%). As a result, the trade balance showed a deficit of US$8.01 billion.

Kazakhstan became one of Uzbekistan’s largest foreign economic partners (after China and Russia). This is attributed to their shared border, trade within the CIS free trade zone, and the liberalization of mutual economic relations.

Currently, the Republic of Uzbekistan maintains trade relations with 188 countries worldwide. The largest foreign trade volumes were recorded with China (18.8%), Russia (18.2%), Kazakhstan (6.2%), Turkey (4.6%), and the Republic of Korea (3.1%).

In the structure of the republic’s foreign trade turnover, a significant share was noted in Tashkent, which accounted for 39.2%, or US$16.75 billion, while the smallest share was recorded in Surkhandarya region at 0.7%, or US$279.9 million.

The share of CIS countries in Uzbekistan’s FTT during this period increased by 2.7% compared to the same period in 2023, accounting for 35.2% overall.

Economic growth in countries trading with Uzbekistan may lead to increased demand for the republic’s exports from consumers in these states.

The foreign trade turnover with other countries around the world in January-August 2024 decreased by 2.7% compared to the same period in 2023, making up 64.8% of the total FTT.

From January to August 2024, Uzbekistan’s FTT with CIS countries reached US$15.01 billion, with exports amounting to US$5.84 billion and imports at US$9.17 billion.

Trade within the CIS free trade zone has positively impacted Uzbekistan’s overall foreign trade turnover.

The largest FTT volume with CIS countries was recorded with Russia (51.7%), Kazakhstan (17.6%), and Turkmenistan (5.4%).

Uzbekistan’s FTT with the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) during this period amounted to US$11.4 billion, with exports totaling US$3.81 billion and imports at US$7.58 billion.

It is worth noting that the EAEU member states (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan) have established a common economic territory with a unified customs system, ensuring the free movement of goods and services, migrants, and capital.

The number of exporters reached 6,396, and the volume of exports of goods and services (excluding non-monetary gold) amounted to US$12.35 billion, an increase of 14.4% compared to the same period in 2023.

In the structure of exports, goods accounted for 74.6%, including other goods (29.0%), industrial goods (16.5%), food products and live animals (7.3%), and chemicals and related products (6.2%).

The share of CIS countries in exports for January-August 2024 increased by 1.7% compared to the same period in 2023.

Uzbekistan’s main export partners for goods and services in FTT from January to August 2024 included Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Afghanistan, France, and Kyrgyzstan. Their share in total exports reached 40.2%.

In the structure of Uzbekistan’s exports, a significant share comes from Tashkent, accounting for 20.5%, or US$3.55 billion, while the smallest share is recorded in the Jizzakh region, at 0.8%, or US$135.7 million.

Given the state’s focus on the development of agriculture and horticulture, the quality and volume of exported products have been increasing year by year. Specifically, from January to August 2024, 1,358.8 thousand tons of fruit and vegetable products were exported, an increase of 9.0% (or 111.9 thousand tons) compared to the same period in 2023.

The volume of fruit and vegetable exports during this period amounted to US$922.8 million (a growth of 20.8% compared to the same period in 2023). This accounted for 5.3% of total exports.

The primary export markets for fruit and vegetable products were Russia (44.1%), Pakistan (15.2%), Kazakhstan (14.6%), and Afghanistan (6.6%).

As of the end of January-August 2024, the largest volume of fruit and vegetable exports in value terms went to Russia (44.1% of the total volume of fruit and vegetable products), which is 2.9 times higher than the volume exported to Pakistan, for example.

In the same period, textile products were exported in the amount of US$2.0 billion, making up 11.5% of total exports. Compared to the same period in 2023, textile exports decreased by 5.3%.

The main components of textile exports were yarn (44.8%) and finished textile products (38.5%). In January-August 2024, textile products were exported to 56 countries worldwide.

Thanks to the widespread use of new production technologies, modern equipment, and the implementation of quality management systems in the country, labor productivity is improving, allowing finished products to find their place in global markets.

The export of services in January-August 2024 amounted to US$4.41 billion, or 25.4% of total trade exports, and increased by 28.7% compared to the same period in 2023. The bulk of service exports consisted of travel (tourism) (47.3%), transport services (37.2%), telecommunications, computer and information services (8.5%), and other business services (2.9%). Additionally, other services, such as insurance and pension services (1.1%), financial services (1.1%), construction services (0.7%), and others accounted for 4.1% of the total.

During the reporting period, imports amounted to US$25.36 billion, reflecting a growth rate increase of 7.4% compared to January-August 2023. The main categories of imports were machinery and transport equipment (35.5%), industrial goods (15.1%), and chemical products (12.3%).

An analysis of import dynamics shows that from January to August 2024, the volume of imported goods increased by US$1.04 billion compared to the same period in 2023, reaching US$23.08 billion, while the import of services totaled US$2.27 billion.

The share of imports from CIS countries grew by 3.4% compared to the same period in 2023 and amounted to 36.2% by the end of January-August 2024.

Overall, Uzbekistan imported goods and services from 165 countries during this period, with over two-thirds of imports coming from key partner countries such as China, Russia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Germany.

In the structure of imports, Tashkent accounted for a significant share, with 52.0%, or US$13.19 billion, while the smallest share was recorded in Surkhandarya region at 0.4%, or US$97.1 million.

The import of services in January-August 2024 reached US$2.27 billion, representing 9.0% of total imports, and increased by 44.7% compared to the same period in 2023.

The main components of service imports were travel (tourism) (52.6%), transport services (21.5%), telecommunications, computer, and information services (9.7%), and other business services (6.1%).

Additionally, other services accounted for 10.1% of total imports, with notable shares for royalties and licensing fees (3.6%), maintenance and repair services not classified elsewhere (2.8%), insurance and pension services (1.5%), among others.

By the end of January-August 2024, industrial goods imports reached US$3.83 billion, a 3.4% decrease compared to the same period in 2023, making up 15.1% of total imports.

Most industrial goods imports were iron and steel (US$1.69 billion), metal products (US$522.2 million), textile yarn, fabrics, and finished goods (US$369.0 million), rubber products (US$276.4 million), and others.