Uzbek foreign trade turnover grows
By Trend
Uzbek foreign trade turnover for the first nine months of 2017 grew 16.7 percent compared to the previous year and amounted to about $20 billion, reads the statement of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan on the main directions of monetary policy for 2018, published Dec. 29.
The volume of export of goods and services grew 25.6 percent and amounted to $10.4 billion, while the volume of import grew 8.4 percent and amounted to $9.6 billion, according to the statement.
The Central Bank notes that high export growth rates ensured the export of food products (23.5 percent growth, 5.7 percent share in total export volume), energy and oil products (11.3 percent growth and 13.4 percent share in total export volume), ferrous and non-ferrous metals (24.8 and 6.2 percent), machinery and equipment (60.5 and 2.4 percent), services (10.8 and 24.9 percent).
At the same time, cotton exports fell 18.6 percent (2.7 percent share in total export volume), export of chemical products fell 2.2 percent (6.3 percent share in total export volume).
“The growth in import was due to the increase in import of chemical products (5.6 percent growth, 17.1 percent share in total import volume), energy and oil products (13.5 and 5.2 percent), machinery and equipment (1.8 and 38.7 percent), services (22.5 and 7.3 percent),” said the statement. “This is while the import of food products fell 8.2 percent (10.2 percent share in total import volume).”
During this period, 15.7 percent of the total export volume accounted for Russia, 14.3 percent - China, eight percent - Kazakhstan, six percent - Turkey and 4.1 percent - Afghanistan.
The share of Russia in the total volume of import accounted for 20.3 percent, China - 20.9 percent, South Korea - 9.2 percent, Kazakhstan - 7.5 percent, Turkey - 4.8 percent, Germany - 4.7 percent, Ukraine - 1.3 percent.
The Central Bank notes that in 2017, the dynamics of growth in export volumes and a surplus of foreign trade turnover are expected.
Earlier, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that the total export volume of Uzbekistan is expected at $12.1 billion in 2018.