The National Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan has published data on the country’s foreign trade turnover for January–September 2025. Statistics demonstrate a significant activation of foreign economic activity: total turnover reached 59.8 billion US dollars, increasing by 22.9% compared to the same period last year. Notably, the growth rate of exports is more than double the growth rate of imports.
Trade Dynamics and Balance
During the reporting period, the volume of exports amounted to 26 683.6 million dollars, showing an impressive growth of 33.3%. The volume of imports was recorded at 33 111.0 million dollars, increasing by 15.6%. Despite the outpacing dynamics of exports, the foreign trade balance remains negative and amounts to minus 6 427.4 million dollars.
Uzbekistan maintains trade relations with 206 countries of the world. The main foreign trade partners remain China (share in turnover 19.1%), Russia (15.7%), Kazakhstan (5.8%), Türkiye (3.6%), and the Republic of Korea (2.2%).
Structural Changes in Exports
Positive shifts are observed in the export structure, associated with the growth of supplies of finished products and food. The main share in exports is occupied by goods (74.7%) and services (25.3%).
A significant breakthrough was made by the agricultural sector. In the first 9 months of 2025, the export of fruit and vegetable products reached 1 606.3 thousand tons, which amounted to 1 454.7 million dollars in value terms. Growth compared to last year was 39.3%. The main sales markets for fruits and vegetables were Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and China.
The textile industry, on the contrary, demonstrates a decline in indicators. The export of textile products decreased by 16.6% and amounted to 1 846.0 million dollars. At the same time, it is important to note a qualitative change in the structure: the main share of exports (50.8%) is now occupied by finished textile products, which indicates a course towards deep processing of raw materials, while the share of yarn is 29.0%.
Traditionally, a significant role in the export structure is played by industrial goods (10.7%), food products and live animals (7.7%), as well as chemicals (5.7%). The share of non-monetary gold in exports was 37.1%.
Imports: Focus on Technology and Production
The structure of imports testifies to the ongoing processes of economic modernization. The main item of expenditure is the import of machinery and transport equipment, the share of which reached 33.9% of the total import volume (11 226.9 million dollars).
Also, significant volumes fall on industrial goods (15.9%) and chemical products (12.3%). The growth of service imports amounted to 34.9%, reaching the mark of 3 646.0 million dollars.
Among import partner countries, China leads with a share of 30.3%, followed by Russia (18.6%) and Kazakhstan (7.3%).
Development of Export and Import of Services
The services sector demonstrates high dynamics in both exports and imports. The volume of service exports grew by 31.6% and amounted to 6 762.1 million dollars. The main drivers here are trips (tourism), which account for 52.9% of all service exports, and transport services with a share of 31.7%.
Service imports are also characterized by the prevalence of the tourism direction (51.1%) and transport services (20.3%). A noticeable share is occupied by telecommunication, computer, and information services (10.6%), which reflects the processes of digitalization of the economy.
Conclusion
The results of January–September 2025 show that Uzbekistan is confidently increasing the volumes of international trade. The outpacing growth of exports, diversification of supplies from the agro-industrial complex, and the active development of the services sector contribute to strengthening the country’s foreign economic positions, despite the persisting trade balance deficit.
Source: National Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan