Uzbekistan’s imports of mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials climbed 19.3% year-on-year to $2.23 billion during the first half of 2026, according to data from the National Statistics Agency. This is up from approximately $1.87 billion recorded during the same period last year.
Natural and manufactured gas imports surged 41.4% between January and June 2026, reaching $971.7 million. Extrapolating back using this growth rate places the first-half 2025 figure at around $687.2 million. However, the agency's report from last year listed a lower amount of $571.8 million for that period, revealing a statistical discrepancy of $115.4 million.
For the month of June alone, natural and manufactured gas imports totaled roughly $247 million, down from $293.6 million in June of the previous year. Meanwhile, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG/propane) imports skyrocketed 3.6-fold, jumping from roughly $24 million to $86.3 million.
Imports of petroleum and petroleum products rose 8.1%, climbing from approximately $1.03 billion to $1.11 billion. This includes a 5.1% increase in fuel and lubricant deliveries, which grew from roughly $821.1 million to $863 million.
However, the dynamics varied significantly by fuel type. Gasoline imports surged 78.5%, jumping from around $229.4 million to $409.5 million, whereas diesel imports fell 11.1%, dropping from approximately $257.5 million to $228.9 million.
Gas exports plunge by more than a third
The export market painted a vastly different picture. Overall exports of mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials ticked up 5.6%, rising from roughly $731.8 million to $772,8 million.
Yet, the National Statistics Agency reported that natural and manufactured gas exports plunged 34.4%, falling from around $355 million to $232.9 million.
Data from China’s General Administration of Customs corroborated this downturn, reporting $218.7 million in Uzbek gas imports for the first half of the year. This marks a 40% drop compared to the $368.6 million recorded during the same period last year.
Deliveries ground to a near-total halt during the winter months. Spring shipments picked up slightly but remained depressed: April exports stood at $44.97 million (down from $72.2 million in April 2025), May exports reached $93.6 million (down from $121.8 million), and June deliveries totaled $79 million (down from $103.7 million).
At the same time, exports of petroleum and petroleum products advanced 54.3%, rising from approximately $273.6 million to $422.2 million.
Consequently, the gap between Uzbekistan's gas imports and exports expanded to roughly $739 million. This marks a substantial widening of the trade deficit compared to the same period last year, when the shortfall stood at around $332 million.
Electricity exports up, imports down
The electricity sector exhibited a completely opposite trend.
Power exports climbed 13.4% during the first half of the year to reach $116.2 million. Conversely, electricity imports fell 15.6%, dropping from approximately $65.3 million to $55.1 million.
As a result, the electricity trade surplus widened significantly, increasing from roughly $37 million in the first half of 2025 to $61 million during the corresponding period in 2026.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to scale up its gas exports to Uzbekistan via Kazakhstan. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that these deliveries could surpass 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2026—up from 7 bcm last year—even as Uzbekistan’s domestic gas production faces a persistent decline.
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