Textile industry development issues discussed

On 23 April, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on the issues of ensuring stability in the textile industry and mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the industry.

There are more than 2 thousand textile enterprises in the country, employing 365 thousand people. Over the past three years, the export potential of the sector has doubled. Last year, products worth $1.6 billion were exported.

Uzbekistan has resources and means sufficient to fully process the grown cotton, bring exports up to US$15 billion and employ more than 3 million people.

An instruction has been given to extend the final payment term for cotton fiber from 90 to 150 days, sold before April 1 this year.

The Ministry of Finance has been instructed to introduce a mechanism for instant return of the amount of value added tax after export processing at customs, so that enterprises maintain a stable level of working capital.

The Head of the state also instructed to increase manufacturing finished products 4-5 times in five years, to develop foreign markets by increasing the competitiveness of goods. The need was noted for expanding their range and improving quality.

In particular, instructions were given on organization of large export enterprises with participation of foreign companies, the production of popular products under well-known brands.

To this end, new enterprises for the export of finished products will be organized in Namangan, Samarkand and Tashkent regions. 300 million dollars will be allocated for the implementation of these projects under the credit line of the Fund for Reconstruction and Development.

The Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade, Uzbekistan Textile Industry Association have been tasked with obtaining the status of the beneficiary of the GSP+ system for duty-free trade in the EU market. At the same time, the need for accelerating BSI products certification with the assistance of the International Finance Corporation was noted. Instructions have been given for further expanding the subsidization of exporters’ expenses.