Tajikistan’s foreign trade turnover reached $7.94 billion in January–July 2026, up 42.3%, or $2.36 billion, from the same period last year, according to the country’s Agency for Statistics.

The country continued to run a trade deficit, with imports exceeding exports by $4.38 billion over the first seven months of the year.

Exports, however, grew considerably faster than imports. Tajikistan exported $1.78 billion worth of goods in January–July, an increase of 57.2%, or $648.3 million, year on year.

Imports rose by 38.6%, or $1.71 billion, to $6.16 billion.

By comparison, Tajikistan’s trade deficit stood at around $3.31 billion in January–July 2025. This means the gap widened by approximately $1.07 billion over the past year. In value terms, the country now imports about 3.5 times more goods than it exports.

What drove export growth?

The strongest increase was recorded in precious and semi-precious stones and metals. Exports in this category surged from $3.2 million a year earlier to $519 million — an increase of more than 160 times.

Exports of mineral products rose by 47.9% to $596.7 million. The category includes cement, ores and concentrates, petroleum products, coal and electricity, among other goods.

At the same time, exports of base metals and related products fell by 27.8% to $381 million.

Exports of textiles and textile products increased by 33.7% to $159.7 million. Cotton fiber exports rose by 38.9% to $89.4 million.

Together, three commodity groups — mineral products, precious and semi-precious stones and metals, and base metals and related products — accounted for about 84% of Tajikistan’s total export revenue during the seven-month period.

What did Tajikistan import the most?

Machinery and equipment remained the country’s largest import category. Imports in this group reached $903.5 million, up 38.9% from a year earlier.

Imports of mineral products totaled $870.8 million, an increase of 14.5%. Imports of base metals and related products rose by 64% to $798 million, while imports of vehicles and spare parts increased by 29.1% to $771 million.

Tajikistan also imported $591 million worth of petroleum products, $207.7 million worth of wheat and $14.1 million worth of flour.

In value terms, wheat imports increased by 25%, while flour imports rose by 66.3%.

China remains Tajikistan’s largest trading partner

Tajikistan conducted foreign trade with 125 countries in January–July.

China was the country’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $2.17 billion over the seven-month period. It was followed by Russia at $1.51 billion, Switzerland at $1.02 billion, Kazakhstan at $889.6 million and Uzbekistan at $420.7 million.

Switzerland was the largest destination for Tajik exports, accounting for 28.6% of the total. China accounted for 27.3%, Uzbekistan for 7.8%, Türkiye for 7.4% and Russia for 5.4%.

China also remained the largest supplier of goods to Tajikistan, accounting for 27.3% of total imports. Russia’s share stood at 23%, Kazakhstan’s at 13.4%, Switzerland’s at 8.2% and Uzbekistan’s at 4.6%.