From January to September 2025, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover reached $59.8 billion, marking a 22.9% increase compared to the same period last year, according to the National Committee of Statistics, cited by Gazeta.uz.
Exports totaled $26.7 billion (up 33.3%), while imports amounted to $33.1 billion (+15.6%). As a result of faster export growth, the trade deficit narrowed to $6.4 billion from $8.6 billion a year earlier.
The main driver of export growth was gold sales, which reached $9.9 billion since the beginning of the year — 1.7 times higher than last year’s figure. Excluding gold, exports also showed steady growth — up 18%, reaching $16.8 billion.
In September, exports stood at $3.7 billion and imports at $4.7 billion. Economist Mirkhomil Kholboev noted that monthly exports grew by 47.5%, largely due to gold exports worth $1.5 billion. Even excluding gold, exports rose 30.6%, driven primarily by a 50.6% increase in the services sector.
According to Kholboev, the acceleration of imports after May is linked to the strengthening of the real exchange rate and falling prices for Chinese goods due to the ongoing trade war. However, he added that explaining the rapid export growth amid a stronger soum is more difficult: before May, non-gold, non-energy, and non-service exports grew by 6.6%, but after May — by 13%.
Trade patterns also shifted across partner countries. Exports to China fell by 8.3%, while exports to other key partners increased:
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Russia — up 20.8%,
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Afghanistan — up 47.5%,
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Kazakhstan — up 16.8%,
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Tajikistan — up 63.4%,
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Kyrgyzstan — up 36.8%,
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UAE — up 281%.
In contrast, imports from China continued to grow rapidly — up 82% in September. Before April, the average monthly growth rate was just 1%, but after the onset of the trade conflict it jumped to 45%. The stronger soum also contributed to higher import volumes.
Imports from other major partners also rose:
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from Russia — up 22%,
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from Kazakhstan — up 21%,
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from Turkey — up 7%,
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from the United States — up 321% in a single month.
Overall, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade structure in 2025 reflects both the country’s growing activity in global markets and its sensitivity to global price and currency fluctuations.
CentralAsianLIGHT.org
October 30, 2025