According to preliminary data from the State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the country’s foreign trade turnover reached $32.8 billion in January–May 2026, up $1.2 billion (+3.7%) compared to the same period last year. This continues a multi-year positive trend: over three years (2024–2026), the indicator grew from $27.2 billion to $32.8 billion. The main driver of growth remains the expansion of machinery and equipment imports, reflecting the ongoing modernization of the economy, while exports of goods excluding gold grew by 29.4%, confirming the trend toward diversification of foreign trade.

Exports: growth in non-commodity supplies

Total exports of goods and services amounted to $12.6 billion. Notably, exports of goods excluding non-monetary gold grew by 29.4%, reaching $6.5 billion, indicating a strengthening diversification of the country’s export base. The most dynamic growth was recorded in:

• chemical products — up 37.6%, to $1.05 billion;
• various manufactured goods — nearly doubling (+99.7%), to $1.06 billion;
• machinery and transport equipment — up 38.2%, to $536 million;
• food products — up 9.1%, to $1.01 billion.

Service exports deserve separate mention: they grew by 34.9% to reach $4.6 billion (36.3% of total exports), driven by tourism ($2.24 billion), transport services ($1.66 billion), and telecommunications, computer and information services ($441.8 million). This confirms the growing role of the services sector, including tourism, in the country’s export potential.

Textile exports grew by 20.1%, to $1.3 billion (10% of exports), while fruit and vegetable exports rose 2.7%, to $635.8 million.

The key buyers of Uzbek products and services were Russia (14.9%), China (9.2%), Afghanistan (6.5%), France (5.0%), and Kazakhstan (4.5%).

Imports: a signal of investment activity

Imports amounted to $20.1 billion (+20.8%). The largest share is formed by machinery and transport equipment (33.1%, up 20.5%) and manufactured goods (15.3%), which naturally reflects the intensive renewal of production capacity and the continued inflow of investment into the real sector of the economy. In particular, imports of electrical machinery and equipment rose notably (+46.1%), as did power-generating equipment (+59.1%) and telecommunications equipment (+81.7%) — precisely the categories that form the foundation for industrial modernization.

The main trading partners for imports were China (32.3%), Russia (19.3%), Kazakhstan (8.4%), the Republic of Korea (3.6%), and Turkey (3.4%).

Overall picture

Uzbekistan maintains trade relations with more than 185 countries worldwide. The faster growth of capital goods imports relative to exports resulted in a negative trade balance of $7.5 billion, which is typical for economies in an active phase of investment cycles and technological renewal. At the same time, the growth of non-commodity and service exports amid the continued expansion of overall trade turnover indicates a strengthening structural resilience of the country’s foreign trade.

Source: State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan