Akmalkhuzha Mavlonov, Chairman of the Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, held a meeting with representatives of the pharmaceutical industry to discuss streamlining drug imports, strengthening quality control, and addressing systemic market issues. According to the data presented, in 2025, the total turnover of pharmaceutical products in the country reached $2 billion, which is 18% (about $300 million) more than a year earlier, while exports amounted to $32 million.
According to Mavlonov, pharmaceutical products are imported from 79 countries, primarily India, Russia, China, Turkey, Germany, and Ukraine, with about 85% of imports (approximately $1.7 billion) accounted for by finished medicinal products. He also named the largest importers among Uzbek companies, including Grand Pharm Trade, Meros Pharm, Farm Lyuks Invest, GD Pharm, Eurofarm Business, and Astor Alliance.
The Customs Committee announced that starting in 2026, medicines must be stored only in customs and free warehouses that meet the requirements of good storage practices and have appropriate storage conditions. At the same time, medicines and medical products worth $379 million, imported by 63 enterprises within the structure of the Agency for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry, are currently under customs storage and control. Mavlonov emphasized the need for quality and circulation checks: “Checks are objectively necessary. Without inspections, it is impossible to allow such products to be consumed by the population.”
It was also noted that over the past three years, customs authorities have detected 3,914 violations in the field of illegal circulation of medicines and medical products, and in 2025, according to the committee’s estimates, about 40% of imported medicines were imported during a period of high temperatures, which creates risks of violating transportation and storage conditions.
Ukraine has traditionally been a prominent supplier to the Uzbek pharmaceutical market and was among the leaders in terms of supplies: According to data from the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, cited by local media, in 2021 Ukraine was the fourth largest exporter of pharmaceutical products to Uzbekistan (after India, China, and Russia) with a value of $86 million. At the same time, Uzbekistan is one of the key destinations for Ukrainian drug exports — in 2023, it became the largest market for Ukrainian pharmaceutical products ($53 million, or 19.1% of exports in this group).
A separate trend is the localization of production with the participation of Ukrainian companies in Uzbekistan. In particular, Farmak is implementing a project in the Tashkent Pharma Park cluster with the localization of solid dosage forms (tablets and capsules) according to GMP standards, which, according to the project statement, will enable the production of over 500 million tablets per year.
In addition, in 2023, Ukrainian company YURiA-PHARM, with the support of EBRD financing, acquired Uzbek company Reka-Med; the EBRD noted that the deal should enable local production for the Uzbek market and reduce risks for exports in the context of the war.
On February 25-28, the Ilkhom Theater in Tashkent hosted an exhibition of posters by Ukrainian illustrators Yellow&Blue, dedicated to modern Ukraine and its cultural identity.
The exhibition was organized by the European Union Delegation to Uzbekistan in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine, while the Ilkhom Theater provided the venue and organizational support, for which the organizers expressed their gratitude.
The exhibition featured over 60 works by Ukrainian authors, created using collage, appliqué, and vector graphics techniques; the project was prepared by the Ukrainian illustration community Pictoric.
According to Serbian Economist, Iberostar has opened sales for its new Iberostar Selection Montenegro property on the Bar Riviera coast. The promotional offer is tied to the period of stay from May 1 to October 31, 2026, which indicates a launch at the beginning of the summer season.
Iberostar is located on the seafront and has direct access to a private bay/beach; The property is approximately 9 km from the old town of Bar, and the distance to Podgorica and Tivat airports is 45 km and 57 km, respectively. The hotel is located in the coastal area of Ratac, between Bar and Sutomore, and is advertised as “new for 2026.”
The key focus of the project is on leisure and wellness infrastructure. There will be indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a 3,700 sq m spa complex (saunas, hammam, steam room, cold room, massages and treatments), and a gym with sea views. In terms of accommodation, Iberostar is promoting rooms and suites with views of the Adriatic, as well as options with private amenities, such as terraces with jacuzzis and categories with private or swim-up pools.
Dining will include several formats, from the main restaurant to à la carte, cafes, and beach bars. An all-inclusive option and the Star Camp children’s program are also announced.
Iberostar is expanding its presence in the Adriatic through existing hotels in Montenegro, including Iberostar Waves Slavija and Iberostar Waves Bellevue in the Budva area.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2367
Agrotrade agricultural holding has formed the structure of cultivated areas for 2026 and allocated the largest shares to sunflower (28.6%) and corn (24.9%), the agricultural group reported on Facebook.
“The changes in the crop structure are dictated by both economic calculations and the results of the previous season: niche crops — flax and winter peas — have been added, the area under soybeans has been reduced, and sunflower and corn crops have been increased. The priority is high-margin crops, in particular sunflower and winter rapeseed,” the agricultural holding emphasized.
It is noted that the crop structure also includes winter wheat (19.3%), winter rapeseed (13.8%), soybeans (7.3%), and flax (3.3%). Smaller areas are allocated to winter barley (1.6%), winter peas (0.7%), and industrial hemp (0.4%).
In 2026, the agricultural holding plans to increase the average yield by 0.17–0.79 t/ha, depending on the crop, by updating its approaches to plant protection and nutrition. Agrotrade will also continue to transform its production processes: it will switch to direct sowing, Strip-Till technology, and soil biologization, abandoning plowing.
The Agrotrade Group of Companies is a vertically integrated holding company covering the entire agro-industrial cycle (production, processing, storage, and trade in agricultural products). It cultivates over 70,000 hectares of land. Its main crops are sunflower, corn, winter wheat, soybeans, and rapeseed. It has its own network of elevators with a one-time storage capacity of 570,000 tons.
The group also produces hybrid seeds of corn, sunflower, barley, and winter wheat. In 2014, a seed plant with a capacity of 20,000 tons of seeds per year was built on the basis of the Kolos seed farm (Kharkiv region).
The founder of Agrotrade is Vsevolod Kozhemyako.
Prices for soybeans on the Ukrainian export market reached $437–447/t CPT port in early March, which is the highest figure for this sector since February 2024, according to the information and analytical agency APK-Inform.
“The Ukrainian market continues to receive support from the global soybean sector, in particular due to a certain delay in the harvesting and delivery of soybeans in Brazil amid difficult weather conditions, as well as due to the growth of soybean prices in Chicago under the influence of a further increase in soybean oil prices in the US,” the agency noted.
Analysts noted that the domestic market continues to see a trend toward higher prices due to intense competition between processing companies and exporters. Demand prices have risen by 200-500 UAH/ton over the last period, depending on the region and demand for raw materials.
At the same time, experts predict a possible decline in export prices in the near future due to an increase in the supply of new crops from South America. However, in their opinion, the factors supporting high levels will remain military actions in the Middle East, oil market volatility, and increased demand for soybeans from China.
The Business Activity Expectations Index (BAEI) rose to 45.9 points in February 2026 from 41.3 points in January, but was lower than in February 2025 (46.9 points), according to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) website.
“Uncertainty about the duration of hostilities, the destruction of energy and infrastructure, rising costs and electricity prices, labor shortages, and seasonality have held back economic activity and negatively affected business sentiment,” the regulator said in a press release.
At the same time, consumer demand, international financial aid, and slowing inflation supported business sentiment. As a result, enterprises in all sectors surveyed revised their assessments of business activity upward in February compared to January.
The highest assessments of current economic activity in February were demonstrated by industrial enterprises, although they remained cautious amid power shortages, labor shortages, and rising production costs: the sectoral index was 46.9, compared to 41.7 in January (in February 2025 – 50.2).
“Manufacturers lowered their expectations regarding output and new orders, including exports, as well as work in progress, while assessments of finished product inventories were somewhat more pessimistic,” the NBU noted.
Construction companies ranked second in terms of estimates last month: the sectoral index rose to 46.6 from 37.9 in January (in February 2025 – 44.7).
“Builders, preparing for the start of the season, significantly improved their assessments of current activity, although they remained cautious due to difficult weather conditions and electricity shortages, while at the same time an increase in new orders was expected,” the central bank emphasized.
Assessments of service sector companies also improved in February: the sectoral index rose to 45.4 from 42.1 in January (in February 2025 – 42.2).
“The service sector expected a slower pace of decline in the volume of services provided and new orders, despite complicated logistics and rising labor, heating, and electricity costs during the winter period,” the press release said.
Retailers remained the most cautious last month: the sector index rose to 45.0 from 40.0 in January (in February 2025 – 49.2).
“Trading companies have lowered their expectations for a decline in turnover and purchases, while at the same time becoming more optimistic about inventories of goods for sale, maintaining their expectations for a decline in trade margins,” the NBU reported based on the results of a survey of enterprises.
Given the expected acceleration in the growth of purchase prices, respondents from all sectors were optimistic about further increases in prices and tariffs for their own products and services.
The situation with personnel varied by sector: only construction planned to increase its workforce, while industry, trade, and services expected reductions, most notably in industry.
It should be noted that the survey was conducted from February 3 to 20, 2026. A total of 598 enterprises participated in the survey: 43.3% were industrial companies, 25.6% were in the service sector, 25.3% were in trade, and 5.9% were in construction. By size: 30.9% were large enterprises, 29.3% were medium-sized, and 39.8% were small.
At the same time, 33.9% of the surveyed enterprises carry out export and import operations, 8.9% carry out only export operations, 18.4% carry out only import operations, and 38.8% do not carry out foreign economic operations.
