Individuals accounted for over $400 million of Kyrgyzstan's foreign trade

In January–March, individuals accounted for $400.8 million of Kyrgyzstan’s foreign trade turnover. These figures were reported by the National Statistics Committee in its analysis of the regional structure of the country’s foreign and bilateral trade.

In terms of trade volume, individuals were second only to Bishkek, which accounted for over $2 billion in turnover. At the same time, their share of Kyrgyzstan’s total foreign trade reached 11.9%.

The bulk of individuals’ transactions consisted of imports—$376 million. This accounts for 13.1% of the country’s total imports. Exports by individuals were significantly lower—$24.7 million, or about 5.1% of Kyrgyzstan’s total exports.

Compared to the same period last year, the turnover of individuals grew by 20%. Meanwhile, imports increased by 22.1%, while exports, conversely, decreased by approximately 5%.

In fact, individuals remain one of the largest participants in Kyrgyzstan’s foreign trade, particularly in the goods import segment. In terms of import volume, they are already comparable to certain regions of the country and significantly outpace most of the republic’s regions.

For comparison:

• the total trade turnover of the Osh region for the quarter amounted to $73.4 million;
• the Issyk-Kul region — $105 million;
• the Jalal-Abad region — $137 million.

The largest volume of foreign trade continues to be concentrated in Bishkek. The capital accounted for 62.2% of Kyrgyzstan’s total trade turnover, 50% of the country’s exports, and 64.3% of its imports.