Foreign trade figures of Uzbekistan

Foreign Trade in Figures

According tot the latest available data by the World Bank, Uzbekistan's foreign trade represented 62% of GDP in 2020. As a producer of oil, natural gas, and gold and as the second largest exporter of cotton, natural resources dominate the country’s exports. Uzbekistan’s other exports include machines and equipment, and food. The country exports pearls, gold, precious stones, metals and coins (45%), cotton (9%), mineral fuels, oils, distillation products (5.9%) and copper (5.5%). Imports include machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers (24%), vehicles other than railway, tramway (9.2%), iron and steel (6.2%) and pharmaceutical products with 5.8% (Trading Economics, 2022). Uzbekistan total Exports expanded 25.2% Year on Year in Mar 2021, compared with a decrease of 38.9 % Year on Year in the previous month.

In 2021, main export destinations included Russia (24% of all exports), China (16%), Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Imports arrived from China (22%), Russia (20%), Kazakhstan, South Korea, and Turkey. As of 2021, Uzbekistan has trade relations with over 140 countries and has signed trade agreements with 45 countries. In 2020, the country became an observer in the Eurasian Economic Union, and although Uzbekistan is not a member of the WTO yet, the nation is working on accession. Additionally, the UAE and Uzbekistan have agreed to expand their partnership and  increase trade volume and investments in textiles, renewable energy, infrastructure, and agriculture. A large trade and logistics centre will also be constructed in the border areas of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

According to WTO data for 2020, Uzbekistan exported goods for total value of 13.1 billion USD, while it imported goods for a total value of 19.9 billion USD. As for commercial services, Uzbekistan exported 1.7 billion USD and imported 3.4 billion USD worth services. As a result, the country had a negative trade balance of 8 billion USD in 2020. When accounting for both goods and services, imports decreased by 12.9%, while exports decreased by 18.7% (WTO, 2021).