TASHKENT (TCA) — Last year, Uzbekistan exported products worth almost US $14 billion, Novosti Uzbekistana news portal reports citing official statistics.
According to the State Statistical Committee, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade in 2017 amounted to around $27 billion, with exports totaling almost $14 billion and imports — $13 billion. The positive foreign trade balance was $945 million.
Last year, the government of Uzbekistan adopted a set of measures to support Uzbek exporters, cancelling the export of products against prepayment and compulsory sale of foreign-cash revenues by exporters, abolishing a number of permissions, and expanding tax benefits for exporters.
In 2017, the export of machines and equipment increased by 60.1 percent compared to 2016.
The export of food products grew by 26.1 percent due to the increase in the export of soft and alcoholic beverages by 61 percent, wheat by 32 percent, and fresh and processed fruit and vegetables by 15.6 percent.
Of the total amount of fresh and processed fruit and vegetable exports, the share of fruit and berries was 35.9 percent (an increase by 17 percent on-year), vegetables — 30.7 percent (18.6-percent increase), grapes — 22.5 percent (12.2-percent increase), and processed fruit and vegetables — 4.1 percent (an increase of as much as 49.9 percent).
Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan were the main trading partners of Uzbekistan among the former Soviet countries (28.7 percent of Uzbekistan’s total foreign trade).
China, Turkey, South Korea, Germany, Afghanistan, Brazil, India, Iran, Latvia, Lithuania, France, the US, and Italy accounted for 41.6 percent of Uzbekistan’s foreign trade in 2017.
