In January-November, the volume of foreign trade of Uzbekistan increased by 26.2% and amounted to $57.3 billion, the Statistics Agency reported.
Exports increased by 30.6% and amounted to $23.2 billion, imports grew somewhat slower (+23.3%), but remained noticeably higher – $34.1 billion. The negative balance increased by $1 billion compared to last year – to $10.9 billion.
Gold sales abroad continued and totaled $1.28 billion over the past month. Since the beginning of the year, revenue from exports of the precious metal reached $8.15 billion, or 2.3 times more than last year.
China holds the position of Uzbekistan’s main trading partner – over eleven months, mutual trade turnover amounted to $12.23 billion (21.2% of the total). China accounts for more than a quarter of all imports, or $9.95 billion.
Russia is in the second place with $8.86 billion (15.5%). It has maintained its position as the main export market for the republic – $3 billion since the beginning of the year. Also in the top 5 partners were Kazakhstan ($4 billion), Turkey ($2.83 billion) and South Korea ($2.11 billion).
Excluding gold, manufactured goods remain the leading commodity export item – they accounted for $3.75 billion. At the same time, revenue here decreased by more than 5%.
Just over half came from textiles and fabrics ($1.89 billion, -7.7%), about a third came from non-ferrous metals ($1.28 billion, -4.1%). Income from the export of steel and cast iron increased by almost 20% ($179.2 million), metal products - by 10.4% ($120.4 million).
Food products provided $1.64 billion in revenue (+12.1%), of which the majority were fruits and vegetables ($1.1 billion, +6.3%) and grains ($443 million, +43%). Exports of meat products tripled ($3.1 million).
Supplies of engineering products reached $1.2 billion (+38%). In particular, exports of electrical equipment and electronics increased to $101.9 million (2.6 times), data processing equipment – to $25.5 million.
The export of cars and their components also increased noticeably ($457.4 million, +43.1%). At the same time, deliveries in the “other transport equipment” section almost stopped in November, although since the beginning of the year they have increased 8.5 times ($95.4 million).
Exports of chemical products amounted to $1.2 billion. A decline in fertilizers by 21% ($310.8 million) offset the growth in the category of inorganic substances by a quarter ($485.9 million).
In the field of consumer goods and other goods, exports amounted to $1.1 billion (+11%). Supplies of clothing increased to $921.6 million, while exports of shoes ($31.2 million) and furniture ($14 million) fell.
There was a decline in most commodity items – for example, revenue from exports of gas ($509.4 million) and electricity ($62.8 million) fell by almost half. However, supplies of oil and petroleum products doubled and reached $297.2 million.
