Kazakhstan has emerged as one of Uzbekistan’s top 3 trading partners, alongside China and Russia as reported by the State Statistics Agency. This strong trade relationship is facilitated by the countries’ shared border, trade agreements within the CIS free trade area and the recent liberalization of mutual economic relations. Uzbekistan now maintains trade relations with 187 countries worldwide, with significant trade shares recorded with Kazakhstan (6.2%). Uzbekistan’s trade with CIS countries amounted to $13.02bn with exports at $4.94bn and imports at $8.08bn with the highest volumes recorded with Russia (52.2%), Kazakhstan (17.5%) and Turkmenistan (5.7%).

However, year-on-year data reveals a decline in trade between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan over the past two years, dropping from $2.5bn in 2022 to $2.4bn in 2023, and further to $2.2bn in 2024. Exports followed a similar trend, rising from $754mn in 2022 to $807mn in 2023, before declining to $735mn in 2024. A comparable pattern is seen in imports, which decreased from $1.7bn in 2022 to $1.6bn in 2023 and further to $1.5bn in 2024.

From January to July 2024, Uzbekistan exported a total of 1.21mn tons of fruits and vegetables, marking an 8.1% increase over the previous year. These exports were valued at $792.3mn, a 17.7% rise compared to the same period in 2023. Kazakhstan alone accounted for 15.3% of these fruit and vegetable exports, positioning it as a vital destination alongside Russia (43.4%) and Pakistan (15.3%).

The import volume of industrial products reached $3.3bn in the first seven months of 2024, showing a 1.7% increase compared to the same period last year, with Kazakhstan contributing $379.3mn to these imports.

Earlier Daryo reported that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are aiming to more than double their trade turnover, with plans to increase it to $5bn in the short term and $10bn in the medium term, as announced by Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration, Arman Shakkaliev. This goal was discussed in a meeting between Shakkaliev and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, Laziz Kudratov, which focused on enhancing trade relations and addressing current trade issues. The discussions also highlighted the development of the International Centre for Industrial Cooperation (ICICC) “Central Asia” on the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border and Uzbekistan’s planned adoption of the 2009 Rules for Determining the Country of Origin. In 2023, Uzbekistan was Kazakhstan’s seventh-largest trading partner, contributing over 57% of Kazakhstan’s trade with Central Asia with a total trade turnover of $4.4bn.