Foreign trade figures of Uzbekistan

Foreign Trade in Figures

According to the latest available data by the World Bank, Uzbekistan's foreign trade represents 72% of GDP (World Bank, latest data available). As a producer of oil, natural gas, gold, and cotton, natural resources dominate the country’s exports. According to the national Statistics Agency, in 2022, exports were primarily comprised of industrial goods (USD 4.4 billion), gold (USD 4.1 billion), and services (USD 4 billion), constituting 65% of the total. Uzbekistan's import pattern reflects its continuous industrialization and modernization efforts, with machinery and transport equipment (31.4%), industrial goods (18.8%), and chemicals and related products (13.8%) dominating the import structure.

The country’s main export destinations were Russia (17.0%), China (11.5%), Turkey (9.5%), Kazakhstan (8.2%), and Kyrgyzstan (6.1%), whereas imports came chiefly from China (20.9%), Russia (20.3%), Kazakhstan (10.5%), South Korea (7.5%), and Turkey (5.7% - data Statistics Agency). As of 2023, Uzbekistan has trade relations with over 140 countries and has signed trade agreements with 47 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.

According to WTO data, in 2022, Uzbekistan exported goods for a total value of USD 15.2 billion, while imports totaled USD 28.2 billion. As per commercial services, Uzbekistan exported USD 4.8 billion against USD 7.3 billion in imports. The country has a structurally negative trade balance. The trade deficit was estimated at 17% of GDP in 2022 by the World Bank, compared to 16.5% one year earlier. Uzbekistan's foreign trade turnover surged by 23.9% year-on-year, reaching USD 62.6 billion in 2023, as reported by the country's Statistics Agency. Exports saw a 23.8% increase to USD 24.4 billion, while imports rose by 24% to USD 38.1 billion. However, the negative balance of foreign trade widened to USD 13.715 billion compared to USD 11.035 billion in the previous year. China emerged as Uzbekistan's leading foreign trade partner, accounting for 21.9% of the total trade turnover, followed by Russia (15.8%), Kazakhstan (7%), Turkey (5%), and South Korea (3.7%). Gold constituted the majority of Uzbekistan's exports, representing 33.4% of all exports, followed by services (21.2%), industrial goods (16.6%), and food products (7.9%). Meanwhile, the main import items included machinery and equipment (39.2%), manufactured goods (16.6%), chemical products (12.8%), food products (10.8%), and services (6.7%).