The negative balance in Uzbekistan's foreign trade for the period from January to August 2026 amounted to $11.7 billion. This deficit arose against the backdrop of a 16.3% increase in imports and a simultaneous 3.4% decrease in exports compared to the same period last year.
According to data from the National Committee on Statistics, over eight months, the country imported goods and services totaling $34.5 billion. Meanwhile, exports reached $22.9 billion, resulting in a total foreign trade turnover of $57.4 billion, demonstrating a growth of 7.6%.
China remains Uzbekistan's largest trading partner, accounting for $13.2 billion in turnover, which is 23% of the total trade volume. Russia is in second place with a volume of $9.2 billion (16%). Significant trade ties are also maintained with Kazakhstan ($3.7 billion), Turkey ($1.9 billion), and Afghanistan ($1.4 billion).
Structurally, machinery and transport equipment predominantly form Uzbekistan's imports, amounting to $11.3 billion, or 32.3% of the total volume. Among these items, $2.8 billion is allocated to automobiles and auto components.
In January-July, Uzbekistan imported 65.9 thousand passenger cars from 29 different countries worth $920.4 million. Electric vehicles accounted for a significant share of these shipments—46.7 thousand units—with China being the main supplier of cars, from which 63 thousand vehicles were imported.
The breakdown of imports by product type shows that industrial goods totaled $5.1 billion, chemical products amounted to $4.2 billion, and food and live animals accounted for $3.7 billion. Additionally, $2.8 billion was spent on mineral fuels and lubricants, and $4.6 billion was spent on services imports.
China remains the main source of imports, supplying goods worth $11.2 billion (32.4% of the total). Russia contributed $6 billion, and Kazakhstan contributed $2.7 billion.
Reasons for Export Reduction
The reduction in exports was primarily due to a sharp drop in non-monetary gold supplies. For January-August 2026, non-monetary gold exports amounted to $2.8 billion, significantly less than $8.3 billion for the same period in 2025. Thus, gold exports fell by approximately $5.5 billion, or 66.3%.
Nevertheless, if gold is excluded, merchandise exports showed a growth of 28.7%, reaching $11.5 billion. Service exports also increased substantially by 33.8%, rising from $6.4 billion to $8.5 billion. Of this amount, $4.6 billion was for travel, and another $2.6 billion was for transport services.
Among commodity items, textile product exports showed the largest growth, increasing by 26.9% to reach $2.1 billion. 1.44 million tons of fruit and vegetable products were sent abroad worth $1.18 billion. Overall, Uzbekistan maintained trade relations with more than 200 countries from January to August.
