According to the data of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, preliminary indicators have been prepared for the current account of the balance of payments for 9 months of 2022. [1]

According to preliminary data, the current account deficit of the balance of payments amounted to $346.6 million.

The negative balance ($10.9 billion) of the trade balance (goods and services) was offset by a positive balance ($11.2 billion) of primary and secondary income.

Export of goods and services

For 9 months of this year, the export of goods and services (excluding non-monetary gold) increased by 25% or $2.2 billion compared to the same period last year, reaching $11 billion.

In particular, the export of goods increased by 21% or $1.5 billion compared to the same period last year and amounted to $8.6 billion ($7.1 billion for 9 months of 2021).

The main share of exported goods falls on the commodity groups “textiles and textile products” – 2.5 billion dollars (2.3 billion dollars for 9 months of 2021), “base metals and products from them” – 1.3 billion dollars ($1.2 billion in 9M 2021), “mineral products” – $973.4 million ($700.3 million in 9M 2021), and “plant products” – 895.1 million dollars (776.5 million dollars for 9 months of 2021).

Export of services compared to 9 months of last year increased by 44% or by 730 million dollars, amounting to 2.4 billion dollars (1.6 billion dollars for 9 months of 2021).

The main increase in the structure of exports of services falls on the components of transport services and travel, reaching $1.9 billion. The increase in these components compared to the same period last year by 46% or 618 million dollars is explained by an increase in international flights, as well as an increase in the number of short-term and medium-term visits to Uzbekistan by citizens from neighboring states.

Import of goods and services

Imports of goods and services increased by 25% or $4.9 billion compared to the same period last year and amounted to $24.8 billion.

At the same time, imports of goods amounted to 20.3 billion dollars, an increase of 22% or 3.7 billion dollars compared to the corresponding period last year.

The main share of imported goods was made up of commodity groups “machinery, equipment, mechanisms” – $5.7 billion ($4.7 billion for 9 months of 2021), “base metals and products made from them” – $2.8 billion ($2.3 billion in 9M 2021), “transport equipment” – $2.3 billion ($2.3 billion in 9M 2021), and “chemical industry products” – 2.4 billion dollars (2.1 billion dollars for 9 months of 2021).

Compared to the same period last year, imports of services increased by 37% or $1.2 billion and amounted to $4.6 billion ($3.3 billion for 9 months of 2021). At the same time, in the structure of imported services, compared to last year, there was an increase in the travel component by $800 million and in transport services by $355 million.

Primary and secondary income

The balance of primary income[2] formed positive and amounted to $555 million ($156 million for 9 months of 2021). This is mainly due to the increase in the number of short-term workers who went abroad to earn money, compared to the same period last year[3].

The positive balance of secondary income[4] increased due to the growth of personal transfers (transfers) by 2.4 times or by 6.2 billion dollars and amounted to 10.7 billion dollars (4.5 billion dollars for 9 months of 2021) .

A significant increase in secondary income, taking into account the current geopolitical situation in the world, is explained by the introduction of restrictions on the main sending countries of remittances, the flow of funds from the informal sector to the formal sector, as well as the direction of export earnings by small (seasonal) exporters through money transfer systems, including strengthening of the Russian ruble against the first quarter of the current year.

According to preliminary indicators, additional studies and analyzes will be carried out, and reporting data on indicators of the balance of payments and the international investment position for 9 months of 2022 will be presented to users in December of this year.

[1] Due to the fact that the preliminary figures are based on operational data and expert assessments, they may differ from the final data

[2] Wages paid by non-residents to citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan working abroad and investment income.

[3] Based on the data of the State Statistics Committee, the number of short-term labor migrants who went to work abroad increased by 51% for 9 months of 2022 compared to the same period last year.

[4] Transferred current transfers between residents and non-residents without any obligation.