Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Feb.27
By Demir Azizov- Trend:
President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov approved the program of localization and production of finished products for 2015-2019 with the estimated annual effect of import substitution in the amount of $3.5 billion, the government circles of Uzbekistan told Trend Feb.27.
The localization program includes projects providing for the production of competitive import-substituting and export-oriented products, which provide a level of localization of not less than 36 percent, according to the source.
In general, the program includes 600 projects providing a deep processing of local mineral raw materials, production of 1,225 most popular types of products.
A number of benefits, operating under previous programs of localization (exemption from customs duties, income tax, property tax in funds used for the production of localized products) for a period of three years has been established for enterprises, which implements projects of the approved localization program.
The output of import substitution products in the country at the end of 2014 amounted to 20 percent of the total industrial production volume (compared to 9.5 percent in 2005). Since 1998, the effect of import substitution in the economy of the country exceeded $10 billion, as well as made it possible to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, according to the government of Uzbekistan.
Uzbek foreign trade turnover in January-September 2014 increased by 0.6 percent compared to the same period of 2013 - to $21.3 billion, exports grew by 0.2 percent - to $11.1 billion, imports grew by 0.9 percent - to $10.2 billion, a positive foreign trade turnover has decreased by 8.3 percent - up to $916.8 million, according to official statistics. Data on the results of 2014 were not made public.
Edited by CN