Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 22
By Nigar Guliyeva – Trend:
Uzbekistan is negotiating with several Indian companies to launch modern production leather products, local media outlets reported.
One of these enterprises is planned to be commissioned in the Kasansay district of the Namangan region by late 2018.
"The new plant plans to annually produce up to 15 million square decimeters of leather and about 5,000-6,000 finished leather products, mainly leather jackets and other clothing. Indians are ready to invest half of the amount in the project - $500,000. The main task of the enterprise is to organize the export of products to CIS countries," a representative of Uzbekcharmpoyabzali - Association of Leather and Shoes Enterprises said.
In total, 167 projects are planned to be implemented in the leather and footwear sector of Uzbekistan by the end of 2019 to create modern production facilities, modernize and expand existing facilities. For this purpose, $116.8 millions of investments will be directed.
Experts says that implementation of these projects will increase the share of export of products with high added value, especially to Russia and the countries of Central Asia.
Today, Uzbekcharmpoyabzali includes over 100 enterprises. Over the past few years, the production of more than 3,000 new models of footwear and 70 kinds of leather and haberdashery products has been set up. The goods are exported mainly to China, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Russia and other CIS countries.
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.