Uzbekistan has rose export of services and expanded its trade destinations, but a significant ratio of export earnings still depends on raw materials, the Central Bank said in a review Wednesday.
Reportedly, Uzbekistan's economy remains a not I big but open economy with a high ratio of industrial and raw material products in exports. Therefore, fluctuations in the global economy have a noticeable impact on the international trade figures.
Growth in service exports
The stable growth in exports in recent years рфқ иуут due to the favorable backdrop in world markets, the sustained growth of the economies of Uzbekistan’s trading partners, high external demand, and enhanced international ties.
The Central Bank noted that, under the influence of structural reforms in the country, the ratio of services exports is growing significantly, especially in the areas of transport, tourism, and information and communication technologies.
Over the 2018-2024 period:
- exports of tourism services rose 3.4 times,
- exports of IT services rose 4 times,
- exports of transport services rose 1.7 times.
On average, exports of goods grew by 10% per year during this period, while exports of services grew by 21%. Since mid-2022, the contribution of services to overall export growth (excluding gold) has exceeded the contribution of goods exports.
According to the Central Bank, the destinations of exports has expanded significantly.
While in 2017, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, and Turkey accounted for about 64% of exports, in 2024 their combined ratio had decreased to 44%.
Ther was a decline in the ratio of exports is observed for countries such as China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Russia, Iran, and the Republic of Korea, although the volume of supplies to these countries continues to grow. Nevertheless, the growth rates of exports to these countries have slowed somewhat.
Meanwhile, the enumerated traditional partners still retain the status of the main export destinations for Uzbekistan. Simultaneously, supplies to France, the USA, the UAE, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and other countries rose, which is due to higher demand for uranium, petroleum products, cotton yarn, fertilizers, copper, household appliances, and food.
The number of exported product categories has almost doubled – from 2245 in 2017 to 4359 in 2024.
- In particular, the following items are being exported:
- more than 300 types of food products (mainly legumes and flour),
- about 400 types of chemical products,
- almost 300 types of finished textile products,
- over 180 types of metal products,
- more than 780 types of machinery
Risks of commodity dependence
According to the Central Bank, the rise in the value of exports is largely due to high world prices. The export price index in 2024-2025 averages about 35%, which is higher than in previous years.
However, the Bank warned that the continued dependence on raw materials makes international trade revenues more sensitive to fluctuations in world prices.
From 2021 to the first half of 2025, the ratio of raw materials and semi-finished goods in Uzbekistan's exports is about 66%.
Meanwhile, in terms of the economic complexity index of trade, Uzbekistan surpasses most countries in the region. In the ranking, the country rose from 78th place in 2017 to 66th in 2023.
It should be noted that in January-September, Uzbekistan's international trade turnover topped $59.8 billion (+22.9%). Exports rose by 33.3%, imports by 15.6%. The growth is primarily driven by rose exports of gold and services, as well as rose trade with China, Russia, the UAE, Afghanistan, and India.
