Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10
By Nigar Guliyeva – Trend:
Uzbekistan in 2018 will take measures to stabilize prices for consumer goods and services, reads the draft state program for 2018 "Year of active entrepreneurship, innovative ideas and technologies".
Within the draft program, the government of Uzbekistan intends to allocate $100 million and 385 billion soums to prevent the growth of prices in the domestic market.
These funds will be used in various projects to prevent price increases. In particular, Uzbekistan plans to ensure the uninterrupted supply of basic food products and other consumer goods to the domestic market, as well as to prevent the emergence of an artificial deficit in that or another segment.
Measures will be taken to eliminate the monopoly on the import of a number of food products.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan in 2018 intends to keep inflation at the level of 12-15 percent. Last year, according to official statistics, inflation in the consumer sector of Uzbekistan was 14.4 percent. Foodstuffs became more expensive by 15.9 percent, non-food products - by 16.1 percent, services - by 8.6 percent.
In addition, in 2017, the country set up a fund to help stabilize prices in the domestic consumer market. At the first stage, the Finance Ministry transferred to the Fund $ 100 million to smooth seasonal and other sharp fluctuations in supply and demand for food products