BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 24. Uzbekistan's gas imports amounted to $152.9 million from January through March 2023, which is an increase of 2.6 times, compared to the corresponding period in 2022, Trend reports via Uzbekistan’s State Statistics Committee.
The doubling of gas imports occurred against the background of the fact that Uzbekistan's gas production decreased during the reporting period.
The country’s large enterprises produced some 12.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas from January through March 2023, decreasing by 9.6 percent, compared to what was produced during the first quarter of 2022 (13.6 billion cubic meters).
In 2022, Uzbekistan imported from its trade partners natural gas worth $281.9 million, increasing by 82.5 percent.
Besides natural gas, Uzbekistan in the reporting period has also sharply increased imports of coal, oil, and petroleum products.
As for coal imports, from January through March 2023, the country has purchased it worth $45.2 million, which is 61.7 percent more than in the same period last year.
At the same time, Uzbek imports of oil and petroleum products in the reporting period increased by 43.3 percent year-on-year and amounted to $510 million.
During the reporting period, Uzbekistan overall has imported gas, coal, oil, and petroleum products worth $742.5 million, an increase of almost 2 times, compared to the first quarter of last year.
