China has displaced Russia from the leading position among Uzbekistan's main trading partners by the end of 2023. Russia had held the top spot for the previous two years. The trade turnover with China during the reporting period amounted to $13.7 billion. Uzbekistan was significantly more active in purchasing goods and services from China than exporting to it, with $11.2 billion in imports compared to $2.5 billion in exports, the National Statistical Committee of Uzbekistan announced.
In comparison to 2022, the transaction volume increased by 1.5 times, and imports grew by 1.7 times. Russia secured the second position in the ranking with a turnover of about $9.9 billion. Moscow also supplied more to Uzbekistan than it acquired from Central Asian partners, with $6.6 billion in exports compared to $3.3 billion in imports.
In 2022, Russia traded $9.4 billion with Uzbekistan, while China traded slightly more than $9 billion, securing the second position. Now, China has surpassed Russia, significantly leading in the turnover volume. In 2023, these two countries accounted for nearly 40% of Uzbekistan's total foreign trade.
The top 10 trading partners of Uzbekistan also include Kazakhstan, Turkey, South Korea, Turkmenistan, Germany, France, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan. During the reporting period, Uzbekistan's foreign trade turnover reached $62.6 billion, increasing by almost 24% compared to the previous year, or more than $12 billion in monetary terms.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
February 12, 2024