Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 29
By Nigar Guliyeva – Trend:
The draft decree of the President of Uzbekistan "On measures to further stimulate development and increase the export potential of leather, shoe, fur and wool industries" is being discussed on a single portal of interactive public services.The document notes that Uzbekistan lacks well-established mechanism for provision and storing of leather of cattle, the process of provision of raw materials is not regulated. Consequently, a significant proportion of leather of cattle, and virtually the entire volume of fur and woolen raw materials are not used for the intended purpose, which hampers the growth of the export potential of the industry.
The document says that of the total volume of manufactured leather, about 67 percent is for tannery, and only 33 percent is finished leather. At the same time, the share of tannery holds 82 percent in the total export of the industry, as a result of which the domestic footwear and leather goods enterprises are forced to import part of the tanning raw materials necessary for their own production at an overestimated cost.
To increase the competitiveness of products of domestic exporting organizations in foreign markets, the Uzbekcharmpoyabzali Association developed a program of measures that provides for the further processing of tannery at domestic leather processing plants and a gradual reduction in the volume of the exported tannery to 50 percent of its total production in 2018 to 25 percent - in 2019, and completely stop the export of tanned semi-finished products starting from 2020.
To this end, the Association proposes to establish from Jan. 1, 2018, a customs duty for the export of tannery.
There was also proposed to establish at the Association "Uzbekcharmpoyabzali" a foreign trade company - "Uzcharmimpeks" Ltd.
The official data notes that from 2012 to 2017, the capacity for processing leather and leather production in Uzbekistan increased by 30 percent and amounted to more than 600 million square decimeters, footwear by 25 percent to more than 40 million pairs of shoes, and the production of leather goods by late 2017 will reach the sum of 60 billion soums.
The official exchange rate for Nov.29 is 8095.88 UZS / USD.