Uzbekistan’s trade deficit doubled year on year to $13.8bn in the first three quarters of 2026 as imports rose while exports declined, preliminary figures released by the national statistical committee showed on October 28. The trade gap recorded for January to September in 2025 was $6.9bn, while for the same months of 2024 it was $8.6bn.

Foreign trade turnover in 9M26 amounted to $65.4bn, up 6.3% y/y. Imports increased 15.7% y/y to $39.6bn, while exports fell 5.5% y/y to $25.8bn.

Exports of non-monetary gold dropped 71.4% y/y, from $9.8bn in January-September 2025 to $2.8bn in the same period of 2026. As a result, gold’s share in total exports fell from 35.9% to 10.8%. Excluding gold, merchandise exports rose 31.6% y/y to $13.3bn.

Manufactured goods exports increased 27.6% to $3.8bn, while miscellaneous manufactured articles more than doubled to $2.6bn. Chemicals generated $2bn, up 35.1%, and exports of machinery and transport equipment climbed 40.6% to $1.1bn.

Services proved an increasingly important source of export revenue in 9M26, contributing $9.7bn, or 37.6% of total revenue, compared with $7.4bn a year earlier. Tourism remained the largest component at $5.3bn, followed by transport services at $2.9bn. Telecommunications, computer and information services brought in $804.7mn, while other business services generated $249.9mn.

Textiles provided another source of export growth. Shipments reached $2.4bn, up 28.1% y/y, and accounted for 9.3% of total exports. Finished textile products represented 50.8% of the sector's exports, with yarn accounting for a further 33%.

Agricultural exports moved in the opposite direction. Fruit and vegetable shipments fell 3% in volume to 1.56mn tonnes, while their value declined 10.9% to $1.3bn. The category represented 5% of total exports.

Uzbekistan's export markets remained concentrated among a relatively small group of trading partners. Russia was the largest destination at $3.5bn, followed by China at $2.3bn and Afghanistan at $1.4bn. Hong Kong and Kazakhstan each received more than $1.1bn worth of Uzbek exports. Together, the country's 10 largest export markets accounted for more than half of total shipments.

On the import side, machinery and transport equipment continued to dominate, reaching $12.9bn, or 32.5% of the total. This included $3.2bn in road vehicles, with imports of passenger cars and other vehicles designed to carry people reaching $1.2bn, up 52.5% y/y. Electrical machinery accounted for a further $2bn.

Food imports recorded particularly strong growth, increasing 37.5% to $4.2bn. Purchases of cereals rose 59.4% to $1.1bn, while meat imports climbed 32.2% to $779.3mn. Chemical imports increased 17% to $4.8bn, including $1.4bn in pharmaceutical products.

Energy imports also increased. Uzbekistan purchased $3.4bn worth of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, up 21.6% y/y. Natural gas imports reached $1.6bn, while petroleum and petroleum products accounted for $1.56bn. The latter included $454mn in motor gasoline and $189.1mn in diesel fuel. Electricity imports stood at $61.8mn.

China remained the principal source of imports, supplying $12.9bn worth of goods and services, equivalent to 32.5% of the total. Russia contributed $6.95bn, followed by Kazakhstan at $3.09bn. Turkey and South Korea stood at $1.45bn and $1.37bn, respectively. Together, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, South Korea, Turkmenistan and Germany accounted for more than 65% of imports.

The broader trade relationship with China continued to expand, with bilateral turnover reaching $15.2bn, up from $11.9bn in January-September 2025. Russia ranked second at $10.5bn, while Kazakhstan accounted for $4.3bn. These three partners represented 45.7% of Uzbekistan's total foreign trade turnover.

Uzbekistan maintained trade relations with more than 200 countries during the period, while its imports of services reached $5.15bn, up 12.2% y/y. 

Tourism accounted for 40.8% of service imports, followed by transport at 32.5%, other business services at 9.7% and telecommunications, computer and information services at 8.3%.