Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Uzbekistan will tighten control over drug imports and focus on local production

3 March , 2026  

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.

 

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