That dollar amount results from a 117% increase compared to $1.07 billion five years earlier in 2018.
Year over year, revenues from Tajikistani exports expanded by 30.4% from $1.8 billion for 2021.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, the Tajikistani somoni depreciated by -20.5% against the US dollar since 2018 but increased by 2.5% from 2021 to 2022. Tajikistan’s weaker local currency since 2018 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Tajikistan’s most valuable exported products are unwrought gold, precious metal ores and concentrates, copper ores and concentrates, uncarded and uncombed cotton, and unwrought aluminum.
Given Tajikistan’s population of 9.84 million people, its total $2.33 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $240 for every resident in the Central Asian country. That per-capita metric exceeds the average $190 for 2021.
Tajikistan’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Tajikistani global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Tajikistan.
- Ores, slag, ash: US$731.1 million (31.4% of total exports)
- Gems, precious metals: $717.4 million (30.8%)
- Cotton: $249.8 million (10.7%)
- Aluminum: $173.6 million (7.5%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $117 million (5%)
- Other base metals: $102.4 million (4.4%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $46.6 million (2%)
- Fruits, nuts: $41.2 million (1.8%)
- Iron, steel: $24.8 million (1.1%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $21.6 million (0.9%)
Tajikistan’s top 10 exports accounted for 95.5% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Ores, slag and ash represents the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 112.4% from 2021 to 2022. That product category was propelled by higher revenues for precious metal and copper ores and concentrates.
In second place for improving export sales was fruits and nuts, which rose by 41.2%.
Tajikistan’s shipments of mineral fuels including oil posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 21.8% year over year.
The leading decliner among Tajikistan’s top 10 export categories was cotton, posting a -2.6% crop from 2021.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, unwrought gold represents Tajikistan’s most valuable exported product (30.7% of the Tajikistani total). In second place were precious metal ores and concentrates (10.5%) trailed by copper ores and concentrates (8.7%), uncarded and uncombed cotton (8.4%), unwrought aluminum (6.6%), zinc ores and concentrates (6.2%), lead ores and concentrates (5%), electrical energy (4.6%), antimony (4.4%), mostly cotton yarn (2.1%), then hydraulic cements (1.9%).
Tajikistan’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 97.4% of products exported from Tajikistan was bought by importers in: Switzerland (24.7% of the Tajikistani total), Kazakhstan (20.8%), mainland China (15.8%), Türkiye (7.7%), Uzbekistan (also 7.7%), Iran (4.9%), Afghanistan (4.5%), Belgium (4.4%), Russia (3.8%), Singapore (1.8%), British Virgin Islands (0.7%) and Italy (0.6%).
From a continental perspective, 58.3% of Tajikistan exports by value was delivered to buyers in Asian countries while 34.6% were sold to fellow European importers.
Tajikistan shipped smaller percentages to importers in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean (0.7%), United States of America (0.03%), and South Africa in Africa (0.0003%).
Products Creating Trading Surpluses for Tajikistan
The following types of Tajikistani product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Ores, slag, ash: US$729 million (Up by 113.2% since 2021)
- Gems, precious metals: $708.6 million (Up by 7.3%)
- Cotton: $245.8 million (Down by -3.5%)
- Aluminum: $138 million (Up by 13.6%)
- Other base metals: $102.1 million (Up by 15.1%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $23.7 million (Down by -19.2%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $12.3 million (Up by 19.7%)
- Lead: $11.6 million (Up by 58.5%)
- Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $6.9 million (Up by 196.9%)
- Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $3.8 million (Down by -5%)
Tajikistan has highly positive net exports in the international trade of precious metal, copper and zinc ores and concentrates. In turn, these cashflows is a leading factor in Tajikistan’s strong competitive advantages under the ores, slag and ash product category.
Products Causing Trading Deficits for Tajikistan
Overall, Tajikistan incurred a -US$2.85 billion product trade deficit for 2022 up by 17.4% from -$2.43 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2021.
Below are exports from Tajikistan that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Tajikistan’s goods trail Tajikistani importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$870.9 million (Up by 38.1% since 2021)
- Vehicles: -$400.2 million (Up by 13.7%)
- Machinery including computers: -$392.9 million (Up by 5%)
- Cereals: -$366.8 million (Up by 26%)
- Iron, steel: -$310.7 million (Up by 29.8%)
- Wood: -$214.8 million (Up by 43.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$214.4 million (Down by -21.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$172.8 million (Up by 60%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$172.8 million (Up by 16.7%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$142.7 million (Up by 45.2%)
Tajikistan has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits particularly for refined petroleum oils and petroleum gas under the mineral fuels-related products category.
Tajikistan’s Export Companies
Not one Tajikistani corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Tajikistan. Selected examples are shown below.
- First MicroFinance Bank-Tajikistan (commercial bank)
- Somon Air (airliner)
- Tajik Aluminium Company (aluminum manufacturing)
In macroeconomic terms, Tajikistan’s total exported goods represent 4.8% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($48.6 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 4.8% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 4.7% for 2021. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Tajikistan’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Tajikistan’s unemployment rate was 7.7% at December 2022, down from an average 7.8% jobless rate one year earlier according to Trading Economics.
Tajikistan’s capital city is Dushanbe.
See also Kazakhstan’s Top 10 Exports, Turkey’s Top 10 Exports, Uzbekistan’s Top 10 Exports and Russia’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on October 25, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 25, 2023
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on October 25, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 25, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 25, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 25, 2023
Richest Country Reports, Key Statistics Powering Global Wealth. Accessed on October 25, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 25, 2023
Wikipedia, Category:Companies of Tajikistan. Accessed on October 25, 2023
Wikipedia, Flag of Tajikistan. Accessed on October 25, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 25, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 25, 2023
Wikipedia, Tajikistan. Accessed on October 25, 2023
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Accessed on October 25, 2023
