Uzbekistan, Tashkent, April 23 / Trend, D. Azizov /
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Uzbekistan grew by 7.5 percent in January-March 2013 compared to the same period of 2012, the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance of Uzbekistan Rustam Azimov said at a government meeting dedicated to the socio-economic development of the country in the first quarter.
The volume of industrial production increased by 6 percent, agriculture - by 6.2 percent, construction - by 13.2 percent.
A Government Budget surplus was recorded at 0.4 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product. Inflation did not exceed the forecasted figure, Azimov said.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the production of consumer goods increased in January-March by 9.4 percent, retail sales increased by 13.1 percent, the volume of services - by nine percent. Meanwhile, the share of services in the GDP rose to 52.5 percent compared to 52.1 percent a year earlier.
In the first quarter of 2013, the volume of investments from all sources increased by 7.2 percent, including the volume of foreign investments - which went up by 35.5 percent. Direct investments substantially prevailed in the area of drawn foreign investment and account for 84 percent. 587 new production facilities were commissioned and 114 new investment projects with a total project cost of $4.3 billion were launched.
250,400 new jobs were created in January-March 2013, of which, over 150,000 (or about 60 percent) were in rural areas.
According to the State Statistics Committee, Uzbekistan's GDP in 2012 grew by 8.2 percent as compared to 2011, industrial production increased by 7.7 percent, agricultural production - by seven percent. The volume of construction works increased by 11.5 percent, retail trade - by 13.9 percent, the volume of paid services - by 14.3 percent. The inflation rate was at seven percent.
In 2013, the government plans to ensure GDP growth at eight percent, growth in industrial production - 8.4 percent, agricultural production - six percent, capital investments - 9.3 percent. Inflation in the country will be kept in the range of seven to nine percent.
The official exchange rate on April 23 is 2059.59 soum / $ 1.