In January–October of this year, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover reached $66.5 billion — an increase of 21.5%, or $11.7 billion, compared with the first ten months of 2024. The country’s trade deficit has narrowed, largely due to such categories as non-monetary gold and services, according to the National Statistics Committee.
Exports amounted to $29 billion and imports to $37.5 billion, resulting in a negative balance of $8.5 billion. Over the same period last year, the deficit stood at $9.4 billion — meaning the country recovered nearly $1 billion.
Analysts note that Uzbekistan trades with 210 countries. The list of top partners remains unchanged: China and Russia continue to lead by a wide margin, accounting for 19.7% ($13.1 billion) and 15.9% ($10.6 billion) of total turnover, respectively.
They are followed by Kazakhstan ($3.9 billion), Turkey ($2.4 billion), South Korea ($1.4 billion), and Afghanistan ($1.3 billion). India, Germany, and the UAE each slightly exceeded $1 billion.
A review of export transactions shows a clear leader: sales of non-monetary gold. Uzbekistan earned $9.9 billion from precious-metal exports during the reporting period. Services ranked second at $7.7 billion, with tourism and transport standing out — $4.1 billion and about $2.4 billion, respectively. The country also exports significant volumes of industrial products, foodstuffs, and chemical goods.
Russia remains the largest buyer of Uzbek goods and services at $3.6 billion, or 12.6% of total exports. It is followed by China ($1.6 billion), Kazakhstan and Afghanistan (each around $1.2 billion). Turkey came close to reaching $1 billion.
Imports also increased. The leading category is “machinery and transport equipment,” totaling $12.7 billion, or 34% of all purchases. Industrial goods ranked second, at less than half that amount. They were followed by chemicals and related products, services, foodstuffs, and mineral fuels.
China is Uzbekistan’s main partner in imports, earning $11.4 billion from shipments to the country — nearly one-third of total imports. Russia showed strong results at about $7 billion (18.5%). The top five also include Kazakhstan, which exceeded $2.5 billion, as well as Turkey and South Korea, each approaching $1.5 billion.
