In January 2026, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover amounted to $5,830.5 million, which was $1,318.6 million, or 29.2%, higher than in January 2025. Exports reached $1,693.1 million, up 26.7%, while imports totaled $4,137.4 million, increasing by 30.3%. As a result, the negative foreign trade balance widened to $2,444.3 million.
This means that the country’s foreign trade activity strengthened noticeably at the beginning of 2026, but imports continued to grow faster than exports both in volume and in contribution to overall trade dynamics.
Geography of Foreign Trade
In January 2026, Uzbekistan maintained trade relations with more than 145 countries worldwide. Below is a table of the largest trading partners by total foreign trade turnover.
| No. | Country | Foreign trade turnover, USD million | Share of total foreign trade turnover | Imports, USD million | Share of total imports | Exports, USD million | Share of total exports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 1,624.3 | 27.9% | 1,446.3 | 35.0% | 178.1 | 10.5% |
| 2 | Russian Federation | 1,091.0 | 18.7% | 765.2 | 18.5% | 325.8 | 19.2% |
| 3 | Kazakhstan | 414.1 | 7.1% | 332.5 | 8.0% | 81.6 | 4.8% |
| 4 | Turkey | 207.4 | 3.6% | 123.1 | 3.0% | 84.3 | 5.0% |
| 5 | Afghanistan | 139.6 | 2.4% | 2.9 | 0.1% | 136.7 | 8.1% |
| 6 | Republic of Korea | 126.8 | 2.2% | 123.8 | 3.0% | 3.0 | 0.2% |
| 7 | France | 123.6 | 2.1% | 20.0 | 0.5% | 103.6 | 6.1% |
| 8 | Germany | 106.9 | 1.8% | 95.5 | 2.3% | 11.4 | 0.7% |
| 9 | Turkmenistan | 96.6 | 1.7% | 82.9 | 2.0% | 13.7 | 0.8% |
| 10 | UAE | 94.3 | 1.6% | 52.9 | 1.3% | 41.4 | 2.4% |
| 11 | USA | 93.3 | 1.6% | 61.1 | 1.5% | 32.1 | 1.9% |
| 12 | India | 86.8 | 1.5% | 81.5 | 2.0% | 5.3 | 0.3% |
| 13 | Belarus | 83.5 | 1.4% | 67.6 | 1.6% | 15.9 | 0.9% |
| 14 | Kyrgyz Republic | 64.8 | 1.1% | 18.3 | 0.4% | 46.5 | 2.7% |
| 15 | Tajikistan | 63.9 | 1.1% | 18.2 | 0.4% | 45.7 | 2.7% |
| 16 | Portugal | 47.0 | 0.8% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 17 | Iran | 41.6 | 0.7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 18 | Italy | 40.0 | 0.7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 19 | Austria | 39.5 | 0.7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 20 | Ukraine | 35.4 | 0.6% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
The trade structure shows a high concentration among a limited group of partners. The top twenty countries accounted for 79.2% of Uzbekistan’s total foreign trade turnover. Concentration was even stronger in imports: the ten largest supplier countries accounted for 76.8% of total imports, while the top seven represented 71.8%. In exports, concentration was somewhat lower, but still significant: the ten largest destinations accounted for 63.5% of total exports, while the top six represented 53.8%.
China remained the undisputed leader in total foreign trade turnover with $1,624.3 million. It was followed by Russia with $1,091.0 million and Kazakhstan with $414.1 million. Together, these three partners accounted for more than half of the country’s total foreign trade turnover.
Exports: Growth Driven by a Stronger Role of Services
Uzbekistan’s total exports in January 2026 amounted to $1,693.1 million, compared with $1,336.2 million a year earlier. The most notable feature of the export structure was the further strengthening of services. Their volume reached $742.1 million, bringing their share in total exports to 43.8%.
Within the goods component, the largest export categories were manufactured goods at $306.7 million, chemicals and related products at $169.0 million, food and live animals at $168.8 million, miscellaneous manufactured articles at $121.0 million, and machinery and transport equipment at $80.5 million. Exports of machinery and transport equipment increased particularly sharply, rising 2.1 times compared with January 2025.
By contrast, exports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials declined to $59.5 million, reducing their share in total exports to 3.5%.
Main Export Markets
The largest destinations for Uzbekistan’s exports were Russia at $325.8 million, China at $178.1 million, Afghanistan at $136.7 million, France at $103.6 million, Turkey at $84.3 million, and Kazakhstan at $81.6 million. Russia accounted for 19.2% of total exports, China for 10.5%, Afghanistan for 8.1%, and France for 6.1%.
This indicates that in January 2026 Uzbekistan’s exports relied not only on its largest economic partners, but also on several regional markets where Uzbek supplies still hold a relatively strong position.
What Shaped Goods Exports
Within food exports, the main contribution came from vegetables and fruits at $102.6 million, as well as cereals and cereal preparations at $49.0 million. In the chemical group, the largest items were inorganic chemicals at $109.1 million and fertilizers at $28.4 million.
Within manufactured goods, the leading positions were textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products at $127.6 million, as well as non-ferrous metals at $111.0 million. In machinery and transport equipment, the main export items were telecommunications and sound-recording and reproducing equipment at $20.6 million, electrical machinery and apparatus at $18.3 million, power-generating machinery and equipment at $16.5 million, specialized machinery for particular industries at $10.3 million, and road vehicles at $9.2 million.
Among miscellaneous manufactured articles, clothing and clothing accessories dominated with $87.5 million.
Fruit and Vegetable Exports
In January 2026, Uzbekistan exported 106.8 thousand tons of fruit and vegetable products, compared with 94.1 thousand tons a year earlier. In value terms, exports reached $99.4 million, which was 21.6% higher than in January 2025. The share of fruit and vegetable products in total exports amounted to 5.9%.
The main contribution came from fruits at $37.1 million, vegetables at $14.8 million, dried grapes at $13.1 million, mung beans at $8.7 million, cabbage at $6.6 million, dried apricots at $6.5 million, peanuts and nuts at $5.8 million, dried plums at $5.7 million, and grapes at $5.7 million. One notable development was pomegranate exports, which reached $4.6 million in January 2026, whereas in the same period a year earlier they were effectively absent.
Textiles and Services Exports
Textile exports amounted to $216.5 million, or 12.8% of total exports. Compared with January 2025, this represented a 9.0% increase. Within textile exports, finished textile products accounted for 51.4% and yarn for 31.3%. Knitted fabric represented 8%, woven fabrics 7%, hosiery 2%, and carpets 1%.
Exports of services reached $742.1 million, increasing by 44.1% compared with the same period of the previous year. Their structure was led by travel at 47.9%, transport services at 35.9%, telecommunications, computer and information services at 10.9%, and other business services at 1.9%.
Services were therefore the single largest factor behind export growth in January 2026 and further strengthened their role in the overall export basket.
Imports: The Main Driver of the Wider Trade Deficit
Imports in January 2026 totaled $4,137.4 million, compared with $3,175.7 million a year earlier. Growth of 30.3% exceeded the export growth rate and became the main reason for the further widening of the negative foreign trade balance.
The largest import categories were machinery and transport equipment at $1,486.7 million, manufactured goods at $573.8 million, chemicals and related products at $488.1 million, food and live animals at $431.5 million, and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials at $406.1 million.
Machinery and transport equipment accounted for 35.9% of total imports. Manufactured goods represented 13.9%, chemical products 11.8%, food products 10.4%, mineral fuels 9.8%, and services 10.7%.
Import Geography
Uzbekistan imported goods and services from more than 125 countries. The largest volumes came from China at $1,446.3 million, Russia at $765.2 million, and Kazakhstan at $332.5 million. They were followed by the Republic of Korea at $123.8 million, Turkey at $123.1 million, Germany at $95.5 million, and Turkmenistan at $82.9 million.
This means that the country’s import structure was considerably more concentrated than its export structure. China alone accounted for 35.0% of Uzbekistan’s total imports, while China and Russia together represented more than half.
What Shaped Imports
Within food imports, the main items were cereals and cereal preparations at $127.0 million, meat and meat products at $70.7 million, vegetables and fruits at $64.0 million, and sugar and sugar preparations at $48.2 million.
In the mineral fuels segment, the main positions were petroleum, petroleum products and related materials at $205.4 million, including motor spirit at $170.0 million, as well as natural and manufactured gas at $167.6 million. Gas imports stood out in particular, increasing 6.9 times compared with January 2025.
In chemical imports, the leading items were medicinal and pharmaceutical products at $179.4 million, plastics in primary forms at $85.1 million, chemical materials and products at $57.1 million, organic chemicals at $56.8 million, and essential oils, perfume materials and toilet preparations at $48.7 million.
The largest component of total imports remained machinery and transport equipment. Within this group, the biggest items were electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances at $283.3 million, road vehicles at $282.5 million, specialized machinery for particular industries at $217.8 million, general industrial machinery and equipment at $202.0 million, telecommunications and sound-recording equipment at $192.3 million, power-generating machinery and equipment at $118.4 million, and office machines and automatic data-processing equipment at $107.2 million.
Passenger car imports reached $137.1 million, increasing 4.4 times. Imports of telecommunications equipment rose to 195.4% of the January 2025 level.
Among manufactured goods, the largest import items were iron and steel at $278.9 million, manufactures of metals at $77.0 million, textile yarn, fabrics and related products at $48.9 million, cork and wood manufactures at $38.1 million, paper, paperboard and related articles at $36.2 million, and rubber manufactures at $36.0 million.
Imports of Services
Imports of services in January 2026 amounted to $443.0 million, or 10.7% of total imports. Compared with January 2025, this represented an increase of 26.3%.
The structure of imported services was dominated by travel at 56.2%, transport services at 18.7%, telecommunications, computer and information services at 10.2%, and other business services at 8.7%.
Conclusion
January 2026 showed a substantial expansion in Uzbekistan’s foreign trade activity. However, the core feature of this growth was not only the increase in turnover, but also the fact that imports expanded faster than exports. As a result, the negative foreign trade balance widened to $2,444.3 million.
At the beginning of the year, the export structure increasingly relied on services, especially travel and transport services. In goods exports, manufactured products, chemicals, food, textiles, and the fruit and vegetable segment retained an important role. Imports, in turn, were shaped primarily by machinery and equipment, fuels, chemical products, manufactured goods, and food products.
From the geographical perspective, China, Russia, and Kazakhstan remained Uzbekistan’s key trading partners. At the same time, China’s dominance was especially pronounced in imports, while exports were relatively more diversified, although they too remained significantly concentrated among a limited number of markets.
Source: National Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics