Baku, Azerbaijan, August 9
By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:
As follows from the decree of the President of the country dated July 31, 2019, Uzbekistan will begin to subsidize buyers of agricultural machinery of local production from September 1 of this year, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan.
It is expected that the State Fund for Agricultural Support will allocate 60 billion soums to implement a system of 15 percent subsidizing the purchase of agricultural machinery, the localization level of which is at least 20 percent.
The document also states that, by October 2020, a modern casting line worth $42 million will be launched at the former Tashkent Tractor Plant, where high-precision casting of 47,000 tons of metal products meeting international requirements will be established.
Another 4 projects totaling $24 million are aimed at developing the production of transmission shafts, rims, cabs and fasteners.
As a result of the implementation of these projects, the localization level in the industry will be brought up to 60 percent, it is expected that production costs will decrease by 32 percent and imports by $116 million per year.
New capacities will be delivered to components not only to enterprises of Uzagrotehsanoathholding JSC, but also to manufacturers of cars, trucks and buses that are part of the Uzavtosanoat system, on the basis of cooperation.
The official estimates show that, at present, the agriculture of Uzbekistan needs more than 11,000 units of equipment, including 4,000 tractors, 500 combines and more than 5,000 suspended trailers annually. In addition, this demand will increase even more, taking into account the planned reclamation of 263,000 hectares of land by 2022 and more than 1 million hectares by 2025.
Today, 46 percent of the equipment has exceeded its expected life or is worn out, while 97 percent of the equipment at the disposal of the farmers is intended for cotton and grain growing.
Since October 1 of this year, this area, like other sectors of the economy, expects the abolition of tax benefits, which requires more active work from specialized enterprises.
($1=8688.47 soums on August 9)
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