Uzbekistan and China report discrepant figures in gas trade statistics

According to the Statistics Agency, Uzbekistan sold $21 million worth of gas in January, $5.7 million in February, $18.7 million in March, $6.9 million in April, and $7.6 million in May. In total, $59.9 million worth of gas was exported over the past five months.

Following the onset of the pandemic, Uzbekistan halted natural gas exports to Russia, which have not resumed since. Currently, Uzbek gas is only being exported to China. As an exception, $1 million worth of gas was delivered to Kyrgyzstan in February.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, $153.87 million worth of gas was imported from Uzbekistan in January-May of this year, which is 2.6 times more than the data provided by the Uzbek side.

For reference, in the first five months of this year, Uzbekistan imported $643 million worth of gas, 4.2 times more than the same period last year.

According to calculations by Gazeta.uz, the discrepancy in bilateral figures amounted to $159.5 million in 2022 and $49.5 million in 2023. In both cases, Uzbekistan reported lower figures.