On May 26, a videoconference meeting was held under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, dedicated to priority tasks for the development of local industry, the press service of the head of our state reports.
In the context of global instability, each state first of all takes measures to protect industries that provide the largest number of jobs. In our country, such industries include the textile industry, construction materials and furniture production – they employ almost 1 million citizens.
In the first four months of this year, industrial production in the country grew by 6.3 percent and reached 290 trillion soums. Export volume increased by 20 percent and amounted to 6 billion 350 million dollars.
The meeting discussed issues of supporting and developing local industry. An analysis of the current situation was conducted by regions and industries, existing shortcomings were identified.
For example, in the textile industry, almost 7 thousand entrepreneurs produce over 500 types of products. Some of them supply clothing to famous international brands. However, despite the focus on quality, many manufacturers cannot officially confirm this. To date, only 244 enterprises have international certificates. Most of them are located in Tashkent and in the Fergana Valley regions; in other regions, they can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
According to the Presidential Decree adopted in February of this year, the state compensates not only the costs of obtaining international certificates, but also the costs of adapting production to the relevant requirements. Based on this, the task has been set to bring these opportunities to entrepreneurs and increase the number of certified enterprises in each region.
The head of state put forward an important initiative – to create a company in Uzbekistan to support national brands. This structure will involve brand managers, designers and marketers from abroad, who will help bring domestic brands to the world market. Products with international certificates and competitive quality will receive a quality mark and be promoted abroad.
Currently, there are no shopping centers in the country where exclusively national goods would be sold. In this regard, the construction of ‘‘Mall of Uzbekistan’’ complexes will begin in cities. The shops in these complexes will be rented to entrepreneurs at minimal prices. Such centers will provide a wide choice for buyers and will be convenient for foreign tourists.
In the current difficult situation, deep processing of own raw materials and increase in added value are of particular importance. In this direction, a factoring system for manufacturers of finished products has been introduced, for which 100 million dollars have been allocated.
In continuation of these measures, textile enterprises will be allowed to purchase yarn on factoring terms in a simplified manner.
Another promising area of local industry is furniture production. There are 7.5 thousand enterprises operating in this sector, 920 of which were created last year alone. Last year, furniture worth 6 trillion 700 billion soums was produced, and exports amounted to 20 million dollars.
Domestic entrepreneurs and artisans have the potential to achieve even higher figures. Many want to move from manual labor to industrial production. In this regard, individual entrepreneurs in the furniture industry will be allowed to hire up to 5 workers.
Young entrepreneurs wishing to start or expand their activities in this area will be issued loans of up to 5 billion soums for a period of 7 years at 18 percent per annum.
Furniture centers will be created in Sharof-Rashidovsky, Yanginamangan, Pastdargomsky, Urtachirchiksky, Kuva, Buvaydinsky, Yunusabadsky and Uchtepa districts based on the experience of the Khankinsky district.
Small businesses in this area may face difficulties importing materials from abroad. In order to support entrepreneurs, reduce transportation costs and ensure supplies of raw materials at affordable prices, a centralized supply of wood and wood materials will be organized. At the same time, the creation of a monopoly will not be allowed – on the contrary, the choice on the market will expand. Entrepreneurs will be able to purchase this cheaper wood or raw materials from other suppliers or import them themselves at their own discretion.
A preferential customs duty of 1 percent will be established for 14 types of raw materials, fittings and accessories for a period of three years.
To stimulate the export activity of furniture makers, the costs of obtaining international certificates will be compensated, as well as 50 percent of the salaries of foreign designers, marketers and process engineers. The size of the compensated rental area at international exhibitions will be increased from 20 to 40 square meters.
The jewelry business, which has long been valued in our country, can today become an additional driver of the economy. Last year, the volume of production in this industry exceeded 200 million dollars, exports grew by 17 percent, reaching 92 million dollars. However, even this is only a small part of the potential of the country, where more than 100 tons of gold are mined annually.
In this regard, additional benefits are also provided in the jewelry industry. Jewelers will be able to officially engage in the trade of gold products as individual entrepreneurs.
The costs of attracting foreign specialists in the amount of up to 2.5 thousand dollars will be compensated subject to the training of at least 5 students. The industry also plans to move to an industrial level of production and support national brands.
Imported equipment and components for jewelry production will be exempt from customs duties. The previously established procedure for purchasing gold in installments from the Navoi and Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Plants will be extended for another 3 years.
Expenses up to 30 thousand dollars for the purchase of designs and forms from well-known brands will also be compensated. Based on the experience of Turkey, Dubai and Egypt, jewelry centers have already opened in Tashkent, Andijan and Khiva. In the future, similar complexes will be gradually created in other regions.
For a sustainable supply of raw materials, the volume of gold offered on the exchange will increase from 6 to 8 tons. Gold reserves will be created in all regions.
Instructions have been given to reduce the share of the shadow economy in the jewelry industry and stimulate legal activities.
In the context of a large-scale construction boom in the country, there is still a high demand for building materials. About 10 thousand enterprises are currently operating in this area. The main task is to ensure high quality and competitiveness of products.
It was noted that it is necessary to use local building materials more widely and support this initiative by providing developers with revolving loans.
A register of enterprises producing building materials will be created on the Shaffof Qurilish platform, and a quality rating will be introduced.
Reducing the cost of production is impossible without improving energy efficiency. In this regard, the need to analyze energy-consuming areas and implement innovative, cost-effective solutions was emphasized.
At the end of the meeting, proposals from responsible managers and entrepreneurs on the issues discussed were heard.
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