Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) —  From January to November 2024, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover amounted to US$59.4 billion, showing a US$2.1 billion increase, or a 3.6% growth, compared to the same period in 2023, according to the Statistics Agency.

Of the total foreign trade volume, exports amounted to US$24.22 billion (up 4.4% compared to January–November 2023), while imports reached US$35.14 billion (a 3.0% increase). As a result, the trade balance showed a negative balance of US$10.92 billion.

Kazakhstan became one of Uzbekistan’s largest foreign economic partners (following China and Russia). The reasons for this include a shared border, trade within the CIS free trade zone, and the liberalization of mutual economic relations.

Uzbekistan currently engages in trade relations with 195 countries worldwide. The largest foreign trade turnover is with China (19.0%), Russia (18.0%), Kazakhstan (6.5%), Turkey (4.4%), and South Korea (3.0%).

In the structure of the country’s foreign trade turnover, Tashkent accounts for a significant portion, making up 38.8% or US$23.02 billion, while the smallest share is recorded in Surkhandarya region at 0.6%, or US$365.1 million.

The share of the CIS countries in Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover increased by 3.0% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching a total share of 35.4%.

Economic growth in countries trading with Uzbekistan is expected to increase demand for Uzbek exports from these nations.

The volume of foreign trade with other countries declined by 3.0% compared to the same period in 2023, making up 64.6% of the total foreign trade turnover.

From January to November 2024, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover with the CIS countries amounted to US$21.03 billion, with exports reaching US$8.27 billion and imports at US$12.76 billion.

Trade within the CIS free trade zone positively impacts Uzbekistan’s overall foreign trade turnover. The largest foreign trade turnover within the CIS was recorded with Russia (50.8%), Kazakhstan (18.3%), and Turkmenistan (5.1%).

Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover with EAEU countries reached US$15.95 billion, with exports totaling US$5.36 billion and imports at US$10.58 billion.

The creation of a common economic space with a unified customs system among EAEU member states (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan) ensures the free movement of goods and services, migration of labor, and capital flows.

The number of exporters reached 7,251, with the export of goods and services (excluding non-monetary gold) amounting to US$17.6 billion, which is a 16.9% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

In the export structure, goods make up 73.4%, including other goods (27.7%), industrial products (16.0%), food products and live animals (8.1%), and chemicals and similar products (6.2%).

The share of exports to CIS countries increased by 1.9% compared to the same period in 2023.

Key export partners in January–November 2024 were Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Afghanistan, France, and Tajikistan, with their combined share of total exports reaching 40.5%.

Tashkent accounts for a significant share of exports, totaling 20.7% or US$5 billion, while the smallest share is recorded in Jizzakh region at 0.8% or US$184.2 million.

In the first eleven months of 2024, Uzbekistan exported 1,899,000 tons of fruit and vegetable products, which is a 16.6% increase (269.9 thousand tons) compared to the same period in 2023.

The export volume of fruit and vegetable products during this period was US$1.41 billion (a 30.0% increase compared to the same period in 2023), making up 5.8% of total exports.

The main markets for Uzbekistan’s fruit and vegetable exports were Russia (42.1%), Kazakhstan (12.7%), Pakistan (12.6%), and Afghanistan (8.0%).

The highest value of fruit and vegetable exports by country is to Russia, accounting for 42.1% of the total fruit and vegetable export volume, which is 3.4 times more than Pakistan’s export value.

In January–November 2024, the export of textile products amounted to US$2.65 billion, which is 10.9% of total exports and a 6.4% decrease compared to the same period in 2023.

The main categories of textile exports are yarn (43.3%) and finished textile products (39.2%).

The wide application of new production technologies and modern equipment in the country, as well as the introduction of quality management systems, has increased labor productivity, which, in turn, allows Uzbek products to find a place in global markets.

The export of services in January–November 2024 reached US$6.43 billion, or 26.6% of total trade exports, showing a 33.4% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

The largest share of services exports is from tourism (48.6%), followed by transportation services (36.7%), telecommunications, computer, and information services (8.2%), and other business services (3.1%).

During the reporting period, imports totaled US$35.14 billion (a 3.0% growth compared to January–November 2023). The largest share of imports is machinery and transport equipment (34.6%), industrial goods (15.7%), and chemicals and similar products (12.2%).

The analysis of import dynamics showed that the volume of goods imports increased by US$75.5 million, totaling US$31.89 billion, while imports of services amounted to US$3.25 billion.

The share of imports from CIS countries increased by 3.7%, reaching 36.3% in January–November 2024.

In total, Uzbekistan imported goods and services from 169 countries. More than two-thirds of imports came from major partner countries such as China, Russia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Germany.

Tashkent accounted for 51.3% or US$18.02 billion of imports, while Surkhandarya region recorded the smallest share at 0.3% or US$121.7 million.

Imports of services in January–November 2024 amounted to US$3.25 billion, or 9.3% of total imports, with a 42.2% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

The largest share of service imports comes from tourism (52.6%), transportation services (20.1%), telecommunications, computer, and information services (9.4%), and other business services (6.0%).

Additionally, the share of other services accounted for 11.9% of total service imports, including a significant portion of intellectual property usage fees (3.9%), technical maintenance and repair services (3.4%), construction services (2.1%), and others.

In the import structure, industrial goods accounted for US$5.52 billion, decreasing by 3.5% compared to the same period in 2023, and making up 15.7% of total imports. The largest portion of industrial goods imports is cast iron and steel (US$2.45 billion), metal products (US$739.2 million), textile yarn, fabrics, and finished products (US$530.5 million), rubber products (US$400.3 million), and others.