Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 37 - 42 of 812

Gas

Gazprom Central Asia Gas Supplies Rise Nearly 70% in 2026

Gazprom has increased gas supplies to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan by nearly 70% so far in 2026. Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller announced the increase on September 4 but did not disclose how much gas each of the three countries received. The most significant changes are taking place in Uzbekistan. Until recently, the country was a major gas producer and exporter, but in 2023 it became a net importer. Since then, Tashkent has increased purchases from Russia and Turkmenistan. In 2025, Gazprom supplied Uzbekistan with 6.48 billion cubic meters of gas, 15% more than a year earlier. Russian gas reaches the country through Kazakhstan via the Central Asia–Center pipeline system. Built during the Soviet era to carry Central Asian gas northward to Russia, part of the system now operates in reverse. Supplies continue to rise. The International Energy Agency expects Russian gas supplies to Uzbekistan to exceed ten billion cubic meters in 2026. The reason is evident in Uzbekistan’s own production figures. The country produced 18.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the first half of 2026, down 16.4% from a year earlier. Gas imports reached $971.7 million. Russia and Turkmenistan remain the main external suppliers. Tashkent is trying to reverse the decline. Uzbekneftegaz has ordered new wells to be brought online and 16 existing wells to be overhauled, measures intended to add a combined 4.36 million cubic meters per day to production. Kazakhstan is in a different position. It produced 68.2 billion cubic meters of gas in 2025, but marketable gas production was only 27.4 billion cubic meters. Kazakhstan has also become the transit link between Russia and Uzbekistan. Part of the increase reported by Gazprom also reflects direct supplies to Kazakhstan, although the company has not provided a breakdown among the three countries. Kyrgyzstan’s gas market is considerably smaller. The country consumes around 500 million cubic meters a year and is more dependent on imports. Bishkek has signed long-term agreements with Gazprom for gas supplies to the planned CHP-2 and Bishkekselmash power plants through 2040. The increase in Central Asian sales comes as the geography of Russian gas exports has changed dramatically. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the sharp decline in deliveries to Europe, Gazprom has been looking for more customers to the east and south. China remains Russia’s largest gas market outside the former Soviet Union. Russia expects to supply China with around 50 billion cubic meters of gas this year. Power of Siberia is already operating at around its design capacity, while another route from Russia’s Far East is scheduled to begin deliveries in January 2027. Moscow and Beijing are also discussing a major new pipeline from Western Siberia through Mongolia. Central Asia, however, is not becoming an exclusively Russian gas market. Turkmenistan remains a major supplier to Uzbekistan, while Uzbekistan in particular is rapidly adding solar and wind generation, helping limit gas demand for power generation. But the direction of gas flows has already changed in a literal sense. The Central Asia–Center system was once built to carry...

Kyrgyzstan-Pakistan Trade

Kyrgyzstan-Pakistan Trade: 12-Fold Growth or Pipe Dream?

One of the most notable of Kyrgyzstan’s agreements at the SCO Summit in Bishkek last week may be its deal with Pakistan to boost annual bilateral trade to US$200 million within the next two years. From a base of roughly US$16 million in 2025, that would represent roughly a twelvefold increase. It's an ambitious target, made more so by associated geoeconomic undercurrents. As long as Bishkek avoids taking sides in any Indo-Pakistan unresolved border or other geopolitical disputes and sticks to trade and commercial issues, Kyrgyzstan should have little to worry about. President Sadyr Japarov emphasized the economic benefits, casting the Joint Statement with Pakistan as a means of bringing greater resources and opportunities to the Kyrgyz people. “The economy should become the foundation of the Kyrgyz-Pakistani partnership,” he told reporters after the talks. Prime Minister Sharif similarly argued that current trade was “not a patch on our friendship, our brotherhood and our very strong relations.” In other words, Sharif thinks that the level of trade between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan is far too low compared with the strength of their political and diplomatic relationship. The Joint Statement of Japarov and Sharif reads that the two governments “agreed to expand industrial and investment cooperation in the fields of mining and processing industries, agriculture, food, textile and light industries, pharmaceuticals, the halal industry and digital technologies, with particular emphasis on establishing joint ventures, localizing production, exchanging technologies and implementing mutually beneficial investment projects.” The leaders also agreed to promote the Tamchy Special Financial Investment Territory as a platform for international investment, fintech, innovation, and global business. Kyrgyzstan has pushed this priority hard in recent years, with Tamchy SFIT Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Ayaz Baetov and Tamchy SFIT Deputy Chairman and Minister of Economy and Commerce Bakyt Sydykov spearheading the effort. The Trade Picture If historical patterns are indicative of future behavior, growth in trade over the next two years points toward pharmaceuticals (already Kyrgyzstan's largest import category from Pakistan, at over $6 million of roughly $14 million U.S. dollars in 2025), textiles and ready-made garments (Pakistan's largest global export sector), dried fruit, rice and other agricultural goods, and a newer category: virtual assets and engagement in the digital and IT space. [caption id="attachment_55574" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] Trade figures: UN Comtrade via TradingEconomics.com, 2025 data.[/caption] Kyrgyzstan’s side of the ledger is thin by comparison. Its exports to Pakistan totaled $1.6 million in 2025, led by mineral fuels at about $719,000. Raw hides and leather accounted for about $341,000. It is worth being precise about what this agreement actually does. It does not describe $200 million of commerce that will simply appear. The Joint Statement seeks to spur that trade by fixing transit problems, which touch, then, on geoeconomics and unresolved territorial issues. Kyrgyz officials have emphasized improving logistics and pointed to Pakistan's Arabian Sea ports as a route to global markets. The tested route runs through western China and across the Khunjerab Pass, following the Karakoram Highway to Sost...

World Nomad Games

Western Tourism Interest Grows Around World Nomad Games

More than 3,000 athletes from 104 countries gathered in Bishkek on August 31 as the World Nomad Games returned to Kyrgyzstan, a sharp increase from the 583 competitors from 19 countries who attended the inaugural event at Issyk-Kul 12 years ago. Tour operators are also seeing more Western travelers, many using the Games as the centerpiece of a longer journey through Central Asia. Around 30,000 people attended the opening ceremony before the sporting and cultural programs moved to Issyk-Kul. Ahead of the Games, Kyrgyzstan’s State Agency for Tourism Development projected more than 100,000 guests over the course of the event. Late on September 2, organizers reported that around 150,000 people had visited Kyrchyn during the first two days, though they provided no methodology or breakdown between domestic and foreign visitors. Kyrgyzstan’s foreign tourism market remains predominantly regional, with more than 95% of foreign tourists in recent years coming from neighboring Central Asian countries and Russia. Arrivals from Europe and the United States have nevertheless been rising, according to the Tourism Development Fund. Western interest in the World Nomad Games was already apparent in 2024, when packages offered by Regent Holidays and Wild Frontiers, both based in the United Kingdom, sold out months before the fifth Games in Kazakhstan. Ak-Sai Travel, a Kyrgyzstan-based tour operator, is offering two itineraries built around this year’s Games. Asked whether the company has seen a significant rise in Western visitors, its chief marketing officer, Aikanysh Akynbekova, told TCA, “Yes. We have seen growing interest from Western markets over the past few years, particularly since international travel fully recovered after the pandemic.” Akynbekova identified Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Spain, and Switzerland as the company’s strongest Western markets. She attributed the increase to improved air connections and greater media coverage of Central Asia, along with growing interest in nature and cultural travel. Demand for Ak-Sai’s Games itineraries has been particularly strong among people already considering a trip to Central Asia. Many of its Western customers are visiting Kyrgyzstan or the region for the first time and are looking for less crowded destinations and meaningful cultural experiences. “For most travelers, the Games are an important highlight rather than the only reason for visiting,” Akynbekova said. The itineraries combine the event with travel through Kyrgyzstan, including its mountain landscapes and historical sites. MIR Corporation, a Seattle-based tour operator, is running one scheduled small-group tour for the Games. Andrew Barron, the company’s director of service and support for retail tours, said 11 of the 16 places had been booked, all by travelers from the U.S. For most of the group, the Games are the principal reason for traveling, although about half are also visiting elsewhere in Central Asia before or after the event. Barron knew that roughly a third had visited the region before, but could not say how many of the others were first-time visitors. Bookings opened in fall 2025, but most were made during 2026, about half since the spring. MIR continued to receive last-minute inquiries during...

Oil Supply

Kyrgyzstan Fuel Supply Shifts Toward Domestic Refining

Kyrgyzstan is trying to reduce its dependence on imported gasoline and diesel by refining more fuel at home. The country still relies overwhelmingly on Russia for its motor fuels, but in August it received 35,000 tons of crude through a newly opened transit route across Kazakhstan – more crude in one month than Kyrgyzstan imported during the whole of 2025, when trade data recorded about 26,400 tons. The oil is believed to be Russian, meaning the shift does not reduce Kyrgyzstan’s dependence on Russian energy itself. Instead, it gives Bishkek another option: importing crude rather than finished fuel and using its own refineries to turn it into gasoline and diesel. That reduces its exposure to disruptions at Russian refineries and could eventually make it easier to bring in crude from other countries. KazTransOil, Kazakhstan’s trunk oil pipeline operator, launched the new route on August 15. The crude is carried by pipeline to the Shagyr loading point in Kazakhstan, then transferred to railway tank cars for the final leg to Kyrgyzstan. KazTransOil has not disclosed the oil’s origin, but industry publication InfoTEK and Kazakh media identify it as Russian. That would fit with an earlier KazTransOil tariff arrangement for moving Russian crude from the border through Shagyr to Kyrgyzstan, which remained in force until 2023. Timely Diversification For Kyrgyzstan, the new route has emerged at a particularly sensitive time. Kyrgyzstan has traditionally sourced around 90-95% of its fuel and lubricants from Russia. For years, this arrangement allowed Bishkek to buy Russian petroleum products without export duties within annually agreed volumes, but it also left the domestic market heavily dependent on conditions at Russian refineries. In 2026, Ukrainian drone attacks and other disruptions to Russian refineries constrained available supplies of gasoline and diesel. Fuel prices in Kyrgyzstan were rising at the same time. One way to reduce that risk is to process more crude domestically. Kyrgyzstan produces too little oil to do this on its own: output was around 262,400 tons in 2025, while the country’s largest refinery, Junda, alone has annual processing capacity of 800,000 tons. Junda is located in Kara-Balta, around 60 kilometers from Bishkek, and is controlled by a Chinese investor. The refinery is undergoing a modernization program under an investment agreement worth nearly $194 million. Once completed, the upgrade is expected to increase production and allow the plant to produce Euro 5-standard fuels, with lower sulfur content and stricter vehicle-emissions requirements. Kazakhstan has also agreed to supply Kyrgyzstan with fuel oil for processing at its refineries. The two countries agreed on monthly shipments of 15,000-20,000 tons of fuel oil, a heavy petroleum product that can undergo further processing. Kyrgyz authorities expect to use it to produce gasoline and diesel. The country’s second major refinery, Kyrgyz Petroleum Company in the city of Manas, formerly known as Jalal-Abad, can process up to 500,000 tons of crude a year. The plant currently produces mainly AI-80, a low-octane gasoline for which domestic demand has largely disappeared. Following modernization, the refinery plans to...

Fertilizer Plant

Kyrgyzstan Fertilizer Plant Opens With $260 Million Chinese Investment

Kyrgyzstan has opened a major mineral fertilizer plant after years of dependence on imports. The $260 million project is being developed with a Chinese investor in the country’s south. Its first production line has an annual capacity of 100,000 tons, while the capacity announced for the completed project would significantly exceed current domestic demand. The plant opened on August 28 in the village of Torobai Kulatov in the Osh region. The first production line is currently operating in test mode. According to the Kyrgyz government, its capacity is 100,000 tons of fertilizer per year. At the next stage, capacity is expected to increase to 300,000 tons, and after completion of the project in 2028, to 1 million tons. For Kyrgyzstan, this represents substantial capacity. In March 2025, a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture estimated the country’s annual demand for mineral fertilizers at about 287,000 tons: 163,500 tons of nitrogen fertilizers, 105,800 tons of phosphate fertilizers, and 17,200 tons of potash fertilizers. The ministry described Kyrgyzstan at the time as entirely dependent on imports. The plant’s intermediate capacity of 300,000 tons would therefore roughly match the country’s current annual demand, although demand is split between different types of fertilizer. If it reaches the government’s stated capacity of 1 million tons, production would far exceed current domestic demand, meaning a substantial share could be exported. According to the Kyrgyz government, the plant will produce ammophos – a fertilizer containing nitrogen and phosphorus – as well as compound fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, the main nutrients used by agricultural crops. The project began with the signing of a $260 million investment agreement in May 2023 between Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Agriculture and China’s Hebei Bai Dou Jia. Construction began in 2024. Equipment worth around $15 million was supplied from China. The Chinese investor also plans to participate in distributing the output. A network of local dealers is expected to be established to supply products directly to farmers. Zhao Xuejun, chairman of Baidoujia Fertilizer, told China Daily that the company intends to combine Chinese fertilizer technology and production experience with local raw materials, labor, and agricultural demand. However, figures for the plant’s eventual capacity differ. The Kyrgyz government says it will reach 1 million tons per year by 2028, while Baidoujia told China Daily that the facility will produce 500,000 tons annually once fully operational. Earlier reports from Kyrgyzstan had also put the eventual capacity at 500,000 tons. Neither side has publicly explained the discrepancy. The scale of Kyrgyzstan’s dependence on imports is evident in trade statistics. World Bank trade data show that in 2025, the country imported approximately $44 million worth of fertilizers. Russia accounted for $20.9 million and Uzbekistan for $19 million. Together, the two countries supplied about 91% of Kyrgyzstan’s fertilizer imports by value. The dependence continued in 2026. Between January and April, Kyrgyzstan imported 12,700 tons of mineral fertilizers worth $7.8 million. Import volumes increased by 13.5% year-on-year. Russia supplied 9,100 tons, or more than 71% of the total...

E-Commerce

Kyrgyzstan E-Commerce Platform to Be Built With Chinese Firm

Kyrgyzstan and China are set to create a new e-commerce platform using Kyrgyz Post’s network to deliver orders across the country. For Kyrgyz businesses, the project promises access to foreign buyers, although it remains unclear how the platform’s export component will work. The agreement was signed on August 28 by state-owned Kyrgyz Post and China’s Kashgar Fengxin Trading Co., Ltd. at the Kyrgyz-Chinese Investment Forum in Bishkek. The platform is expected to integrate with the existing postal and logistics infrastructure. The project also includes digital services and content using artificial intelligence technologies. That said, details were light, and the announcement gave no launch date, cost, or financing terms. For Kyrgyz Post, the project is a continuation of efforts to transform a traditional postal operator into infrastructure for online commerce. The company already provides services linked to Ozon – its website, for example, features a dedicated delivery calculator for the Russian marketplace. The new platform is expected to use the existing network of postal and logistics facilities for nationwide delivery. The sector itself is growing rapidly. According to Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Adylbek Kasymaliev, Kyrgyzstan’s domestic e-commerce market was estimated at $525 million in 2025, about 15% more than a year earlier. In the first half of the year alone, around one million online purchases were made worth 1.7 billion soms ($19.4 million). At the same time, a significant share of e-commerce is already linked to foreign platforms. Russian marketplaces Wildberries and Ozon operate in Kyrgyzstan, while Chinese platforms Taobao and Alibaba are popular, and Temu is also available to Kyrgyz consumers. Amazon and eBay are not fully available in the country. For Kyrgyzstan, the reverse flow – selling its own goods abroad – is therefore of particular interest. Kyrgyz Post specifically points to this opportunity, saying the new platform should help local entrepreneurs promote their products and expand sales opportunities in foreign markets. The operator has not yet specified which countries will be accessible to sellers or whether they will gain direct access to Chinese consumers. This is not Kyrgyzstan’s first attempt to create dedicated infrastructure for cross-border e-commerce. The government, together with the United Nations Development Programme, has been working on at regulatory framework for an E-commerce Park, intended to support companies operating in the sector. Separately, the government says a preferential tax regime has been introduced for e-commerce participants, with a tax of 2% of turnover and exemptions from VAT, income tax, and sales tax. The partnership with the Chinese company comes amid a broader shift in Kyrgyzstan’s economic relationship with Beijing. According to the Kyrgyz government, direct investment from China totaled $1.85 billion between 2021 and 2025. At the same forum, officials said they wanted to gradually move beyond a relationship dominated by trade toward joint production, technology localization, and cooperation between Kyrgyz and Chinese companies in third-country markets. The government also links this broader goal to the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. The planned route starts in Kashgar, crosses into Kyrgyzstan through the Torugart Pass and runs...