Uzbekistan's Gas Imports Rise as Exports Decline

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan imported significantly more natural gas than it exported in the first half of 2026, with gas imports increasing while exports declined, according to the National Statistics Committee.

Natural gas imports from Russia and Turkmenistan rose by 41.4% year-on-year to US$971.7 million in January-June. The total included US$86.3 million worth of liquefied gas imports, which increased 3.6-fold.

Gas imports fluctuated during the first half of the year. After reaching US$167.6 million in January, imports fell to US$34.6 million in February before rising to US$158.3 million in March. They totalled US$147.8 million in April, increased to US$216.4 million in May and reached their highest level of the year at US$247 million in June.

Natural gas exports from Uzbekistan fell by 34.4% to US$232.9 million during the six-month period. Exports were fully suspended in January and resumed in February at US$7.1 million.

Exports increased more than fivefold in March compared with February, reaching US$29.4 million. They rose to US$92.7 million in April before declining to US$73.5 million in May and US$30 million in June.

The National Statistics Committee's figures differ from data published by China's General Administration of Customs. According to Chinese customs statistics, Uzbekistan exported natural gas worth US$218.6 million during January-June 2026, more than US$14.2 million less than the figure reported by the Uzbek statistics agency.

Chinese customs data also showed a decline in natural gas imports from Uzbekistan.

According to the Chinese figures, exports totalled US$79.03 million in June, down 23.7% from the same month last year. Compared with January-June 2025, when exports amounted to US$368.5 million, natural gas exports declined by more than 40%.