In 2023-2028, Uzbekistan will implement a project to create a value chain in the fruit and vegetable industry with the participation of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The total cost of the project is $323 million, including:
– a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) – $200 million;
– the contribution of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Project in the form of value added tax coverage and customs duty exemptions – $58.3 million;
– contribution of Project participants (loan recipients – Project initiators) – $64.8 million.
The project is being implemented in all regions of Uzbekistan, and its implementation period is 6 years – from 2023 to 2028.
The International Center for Strategic Development and Research in Food and Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan has been appointed as the executive body responsible for the timely and complete implementation, coordination and management of the project.
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have set up a joint foreign trade company to increase bilateral trade and enter the markets of third countries.
The founders of the export-import enterprise were the QazTrade Trade Policy Development Center and the UzTrade company.
The foreign trade company will focus on conducting market research and competitive analysis of products of large enterprises of the two countries, developing proposals for placing orders for the production of finished goods, optimizing and coordinating mutual trade processes, assisting businesses in certification and promotion of goods for export.
“At the initial stage, we plan to purchase fruit and vegetable products from Uzbekistan to meet the needs of our domestic market. In addition, we will help sell Kazakh flour products in Uzbekistan with the possibility of further export to Afghanistan. We have agreed with the Uzbek side to provide preferences for logistics costs,” said Nuraly Bukeykhanov, Head of the Trade Policy Development Center.
In 2022, trade between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan reached $5 billion, up 29.8% year-on-year ($3.8 billion).
The volume of exports of Kazakhstani goods increased by 33% to $3.7 billion. The growth in exports was mainly due to an increase in supplies of ore and copper concentrate (up 4.8 times), wheat (up 32.3%), cars (up 83.7%), sunflower oil (up 97.2 times), fresh and chilled beef (up 4.1 times), and raw aluminum (up 70.4%).
In 2022, imports to Kazakhstan from Uzbekistan increased by 21.4% to $ 1.3 billion. Kazakhstan mainly buys car bodies, spark-ignition internal combustion engines, grapes, flat-rolled unalloyed steel, lead ores and concentrates, building bricks, floor blocks and similar ceramic products, parts and accessories for cars and tractors, and ethylene polymers.
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Uzbekistan expects the inbound tourist flow into the country to grow by 34% in 2023, said Shukhrat Isakulov, advisor to the director of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Silk Road office.
“If in 2016 2.2 million tourists visited Uzbekistan, in 2019 – 6.7 million. Of course, the pandemic has affected tourism, but since last year there is already a steady trend to increase the flow of tourists. Last year 5.2 million tourists visited Uzbekistan. This year, we plan to attract 7 million and exceed pre-pandemic indicators,” he told a press conference on Friday.
The World Bank predicts the growth of the economy of Uzbekistan in 2022 by 5.3%, according to the updated WB economic review for the Europe and Central Asia region.
Earlier in April, the World Bank expected the country’s GDP to grow by 3.6% this year.
“According to forecasts, Uzbekistan’s GDP growth will slow to 5.3% in 2022 (in 2021 the economy grew by 7%) and will be 4.9% in 2023. Increasing difficulties in the field of logistics (supplies) associated with sanctions against Russia, will slow down the growth of private consumption,” the document says.
At the same time, according to the WB, private investment and exports are expected to grow steadily, and the current account balance of payments will improve, as Uzbekistan continues to benefit from high world commodity prices (gold, copper, natural gas) and increased remittances from labor migrants. .
“Foreign direct investment is not expected to increase in 2022, and the trade deficit will be covered primarily by government borrowing,” the review said.
According to the World Bank, higher commodity export revenues and “slow” government investment spending will reduce the budget deficit from 6.2% of GDP in 2021 to 4.4% in 2022. However, the deficit will be higher than planned (at 3%) due to higher government spending on social protection, health care, education and infrastructure development.
The government is expected to continue to adhere to its own borrowing restrictions. Thus, public debt and total external debt will gradually decrease to 32% and 55% of GDP, respectively, by the end of 2024.
The state budget of Uzbekistan for 2022 included GDP growth at the level of 5.9%, the inflation rate was planned to be reduced to 9%.
Earlier, the EBRD raised its growth forecast for the economy of Uzbekistan from 4% to 5.5%. The ADB forecast for the growth rate of the economy of Uzbekistan for the current year has not changed – 4%. According to the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, in the first half of the year, the country’s GDP increased by 5.4%.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan this week, Chinese media reported on Monday, citing the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Xi will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand and will visit Kazakhstan from September 14 to September 16, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
As previously reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand.
The SCO summit will be held in Samarkand on September 15-16.
The Uzbek state airline Uzbekistan Airways has resumed flights on the Tashkent-Kyiv-Tashkent route after a six-year break, according to Boryspil International Airport’s Facebook page.
“Yesterday, the Uzbek state airline Uzbekistan Airways returned to Boryspil International Airport on the Tashkent-Kyiv-Tashkent route,” the report says.
Flights will be operated once a week on Sundays.
In addition to Uzbekistan Airways, flights to Tashkent from Kyiv are operated by Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) and SkyUp.
