Throughout 2025, Russia significantly increased fuel exports to Central Asia and Afghanistan, which rose by 15.5% to 7.275 million tons. This was primarily driven by the export of liquefied hydrocarbon gas, which grew by 530 thousand tons. The main buyers were Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Uzbekistan, purchasing under preferential terms with Russia, actively imported both crude oil and liquefied gas to replenish its gasoline deficit.
In 2025, the Russian fuel market faced instability caused by unscheduled repairs at refineries and record prices on the exchange. This situation forced the government to temporarily restrict exports to protect domestic consumers. However, at the beginning of 2026, the restrictions were lifted to avoid overloading refineries, leading to a 44% increase in exports in January compared to December, amounting to 0.88 million tons.
Despite the optimistic start to the new year, experts expect a stabilization of growth rates. The main obstacle to further increases in supply is the capacity limitations at border crossings with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. At the same time, active diesel fuel exports will not pose a threat to the Russian market, as its production traditionally exceeds domestic needs by two times. Given the current geopolitical situation, land routes to Asia are becoming strategically important for Russia due to their resilience to external pressure.
