In October 2023, Uzbekistan became the world's largest seller of gold in the precious metals market, announced the industry organization World Gold Council in its report.
Net purchases of precious metals by central banks in October 2023 amounted to 42 tons, according to the announcement. This is 41% less compared to September but higher than the average for the first nine months of 2023.
The largest buyer of precious metals was China (23 tons), followed by Turkey, Poland, India, and some other countries. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan sold 11 tons of gold, which is five times more than Kazakhstan, ranking second in sales (2.2 tons).
Gold reserves are the gold stocks held on the balance sheet of the country's central bank.
Uzbekistan first entered the top 10 countries in the world in gold production with a figure of 101 tons in 2020, ranking 8th in the list, as reported by Forbes, citing data from the World Gold Council.
Forbes noted that the country hosts the world's largest open-pit gold mine, Muruntau, where there are also vast deposits of turquoise and arsenic.
Gold mining is carried out based on two enterprises: the Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combinat and the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgy Combinat.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan first disclosed the volumes of gold sales in 2020 after 10 years. Over the course of 10 years, Uzbekistan exported a total of 687 tons of non-monetary gold from 2010 to 2020, including 100 tons in 2020.
CentralasianLIGHT.org,
December 6, 2023