Kyrgyzstan exported goods worth $1.2 billion in the first half of the year, the report of National Statistics Committee of Kyrgyzstan says.
The article on the portal Economist.kg details how the country actively developed the export of precious metals, coal, and automobiles, and who were the key buyers of these goods from Kyrgyzstan.
Gold: Kyrgyzstan gains a new buyer
From January to June 2024, Kyrgyzstan exported over 5.6 tons of gold to other countries, worth $405.7 million. The main buyers of Kyrgyz gold were Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, with the latter starting to receive supplies only in April.
1.8 tons of gold worth $129.4 million were sent to Hong Kong, and 2.8 tons worth $211.9 million to the United Kingdom.
Switzerland was the third-largest buyer of Kyrgyz gold, with 971 kg worth $63.5 million exported there. Additionally, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) purchased 13.5 kg of Kyrgyz gold worth $881,000.
During the same period, Kyrgyzstan imported 27 kg of gold from Kazakhstan worth $1.7 million.
Silver sales increased
In the first half of the year, Kyrgyzstan exported 22.7 tons of silver to other countries, worth $17.9 million. The main buyers of Kyrgyz silver were India, Hong Kong, and Switzerland.
India acquired the lion's share of exported silver—21.7 tons worth $17.1 million. Hong Kong purchased 587 kg of silver worth $451.9 thousand, and Switzerland received 386 kg of silver, for which Kyrgyzstan earned $370 thousand.
It is worth noting that silver exports to other countries significantly increased compared to the same period last year. In the first half of 2023, only 312 kg of silver were exported.
Amid active exports, the volume of silver imports into Kyrgyzstan over the half-year was minimal. Only $4.3 thousand was spent on purchasing 798 grams of silver from Germany and 172 grams from Russia.
Automobiles: Re-export is falling
In six months, Kyrgyzstan imported more than 71.2 thousand passenger cars from over 50 countries. The leader in supply was China, from which 38.5 thousand cars were imported, worth $627 million.
Following China was South Korea, which supplied more than 16.7 thousand cars worth $124 million. The top three was rounded out by the United States, from which about 3.6 thousand cars worth $68.4 million were imported to Kyrgyzstan.
Interestingly, in addition to major suppliers, countries such as Slovenia, Belgium, New Zealand, Hungary, and Romania also participated in imports, each sending one passenger car to Kyrgyzstan.
During this period, Kyrgyzstan also engaged in the re-export of cars, although the figures are significantly lower compared to the same period last year.
In the first six months of 2024, 826 passenger cars worth $9.3 million were exported from the country. The main destination was the Russian market, to which 746 cars were sent. The rest of the re-exported cars were sent to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the UAE, and China.
Coal exports
In 2024, Kyrgyzstan actively exported hard and brown coal. In January-June of this year, the volume of these coal exports amounted to more than 709 thousand tons, with total sales revenue reaching $36.7 million.
The main buyer of hard coal was Uzbekistan, which purchased 380 thousand tons. China imported 54.8 thousand tons, Belgium received 14 thousand tons, and Lithuania over 12 thousand tons. Kazakhstan also acquired more than 3.7 thousand tons of hard coal, while Poland purchased 1 thousand tons.
At the same time, 242 thousand tons of brown coal were exported for a total of $16 million. The main buyer again was Uzbekistan, which purchased 235 thousand tons. China imported 6.6 thousand tons of brown coal, and a small amount was exported to Kazakhstan.
During the same period, Kyrgyzstan itself imported 222 thousand tons of hard and brown coal from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
August 16, 2024