The total trade turnover between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in the first quarter of this year amounted to just over $2.2 million, as reported by the Tajik statistical agency. This figure is nearly 20% lower compared to the same period in 2023.
Approximately 95% of the bilateral trade turnover is accounted for by imports from Kyrgyzstan, with Tajik exports amounting to only about $120,000. The trade with Kyrgyzstan represents 0.1% of Tajikistan's total trade turnover, which exceeded $2.1 billion in the first quarter of this year.
The main trading partners of Tajikistan remain Russia (21.5%), China (19.9%), and Kazakhstan (15.5%). The decline in Tajik-Kyrgyz trade began after a two-day armed conflict on the border in late April 2021, resulting in casualties on both sides.
Since then, the Tajik-Kyrgyz border, spanning 970 kilometers, has remained closed. Trade between the two countries is now facilitated through the territories of third countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Over the past three years, the trade volume between the two countries has dropped by more than three times, from $37 million in 2020 to $12 million in 2023. Tajikistan's main exports to Kyrgyzstan include cotton yarn, Portland cement, electricity, aluminum rods, profiles, and stone fruits.
Tajikistan mainly imports oil and oil products, float glass, coal, briquettes, and cement from Kyrgyzstan. The ongoing closure of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border continues to impact the trade relations between the two nations, with hopes for a resolution in the near future.
