Uzbekistan's mutton imports rise 37.7% to 18,900 tonnes, with Kazakhstan supplying 89%

Uzbekistan imported 18,900 tonnes of mutton worth $43.8 million in January-July 2026, according to the National Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, whose data was reported by UzDaily. Volumes grew by 5,200 tonnes, or 37.7%, compared with the same seven months of 2025, which implies a base of about 13,700 tonnes in the year-earlier period.

Kazakhstan supplies close to nine-tenths of the volume

Kazakhstan was the dominant origin, accounting for 16,900 tonnes of the imported sheep meat, or close to 90% of the total. The remaining volume was thinly spread across three other groups of suppliers.

• Kazakhstan - 16,900 tonnes
• Mongolia - 891.3 tonnes
• Russia - 635.7 tonnes
• Other countries - 517.2 tonnes combined

On the published figures, Mongolia and Russia together supplied just over 1,500 tonnes, or roughly 8% of the total, while all other origins combined came to 517.2 tonnes. The statistics committee did not break the $43.8 million import bill down by country, so unit values for individual suppliers cannot be derived. Across all origins, the reported volume and value imply an average of about $2,320 per tonne.

A single corridor carries the growth

The scale of the increase matters more than the absolute volume. An additional 5,200 tonnes in seven months is a step change for a trade of this size, and almost all of it had to be met from one source market. For Kazakh meat processors and traders, the Uzbek market absorbed that growth without any visible shift to alternative origins: Mongolia and Russia stayed in the hundreds of tonnes rather than moving into the thousands.

The flip side is concentration. With close to 90% of mutton arriving from one neighbour, any change in Kazakh export conditions - veterinary restrictions, quotas on live animals or meat, or tighter domestic slaughter availability - would feed through to Uzbek wholesale prices quickly. The reported data covers only the first seven months of 2026, so second-half flows, including the autumn months, are not yet reflected in it.

What the figures do not cover

The statistics committee release quantifies imports only. It does not report Uzbekistan's domestic sheep meat output, flock numbers or consumption, so the import growth cannot be attributed from this data alone to either rising demand or a shortfall in local supply. Nor does it specify the product mix - carcasses, bone-in cuts or boneless meat - which is what determines whether the per-tonne value is comparable with other markets.

For importers and processors tracking Central Asian protein flows, the measurable facts are the published aggregates: 18,900 tonnes, $43.8 million, and a 37.7% year-on-year volume increase, with 16,900 tonnes of that volume originating in Kazakhstan. No tariff or policy changes were reported alongside the figures.