Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover exceeds $32 billion

Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover amounted to $32.8 billion between January and May this year. This was stated in a report published by the National Statistics Committee.

It was noted that over the five-month period, mutual trade increased by 3.7%, rising by $1.2 billion. Total exports were recorded at $12.6 billion, showing a 15.5% decline, while imports rose by 20.8% and amounted to $20.1 billion. As a result, a negative trade balance of $7.5 billion was recorded.

The country maintains trade relations with more than 185 countries. China, with a 23.4% share of total trade turnover, and Russia, with 17.6%, remain Uzbekistan’s main economic partners. Kazakhstan, Turkey and Afghanistan were also among the top five.

A significant share of revenue from exports came from services, amounting to $4.6 billion. In this category, tourism services accounted for 48.9%, while transport services made up 36.2%. Exports of industrial goods were estimated at $1.9 billion.

At the same time, although exports of precious metals exceeded $1.5 billion in April, gold sales stopped in May.

Exports of fruit and vegetable products were valued at $635.8 million. Over the five months, 736,000 tons of vegetables and fruits were shipped, with the physical volume decreasing by 5,700 tons compared to last year. Textile exports grew by 20.1% and exceeded $1.3 billion.

Among imported goods, machinery and transport equipment dominated, amounting to $6.66 billion. Major purchases also included the following products:

• industrial goods — $3.08 billion;
• chemicals — $2.47 billion;
• food products — $2.31 billion;
• mineral fuels and lubricants — $1.86 billion.

At the end of the five-month period, spending on services imports reached $2.1 billion. The main share of these funds went to tourism, at 44.8%, while another 23.9% was spent on transport services.

Earlier, it was reported that Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover reached $18 billion in the first quarter of this year, although exports declined.