Uzbekistan's commitment to ensuring food security received a boost on February 16 as the president signed a decree aimed at fortifying the nation's food sector. This decree, reported by the legal information channel of the Ministry of Justice, outlines a series of measures designed to enhance financing and support for the food industry.
These funds will be utilized to provide targeted concessional loans in the national currency, with an interest rate set at 4% higher than the main rate of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.
The loans are intended to serve two main purposes: financing projects aimed at creating value chains within the food sector over a 10-year period, with a grace period of 3 years, and replenishing working capital over 18 months, with a grace period of 6 months.
The amount of support allocated will be determined based on the company's export revenue, with varying levels of assistance corresponding to different revenue brackets:
- up to $100,000 - with export revenue from $100,000 to $1 mn;
- up to $1 mn - with revenue of $1-2 mn;
- up to $2 mn - with revenue of $2-4 mn;
- up to $3 mn - with revenue of $4 mn or more
In a bid to promote international trade and expand market reach, food industry enterprises will also be permitted to annually transfer up to $50,000 to foreign accounts for the establishment of trading houses and stores abroad, without requiring a separate permit.
The decree is complemented by the approval of the strategy for ensuring food security and healthy nutrition until 2030. As part of this strategy, the launch of the "Electronic Agro-Industrial Market" system is slated for implementation before March 1, 2025. This system aims to track data on agricultural products and their prices, providing valuable insights for stakeholders across the food supply chain.
Additionally, plans are underway to establish an interdepartmental national information platform dedicated to capacity development in the realm of food security, monitoring, assessment, and risk management. This platform is expected to be operational before the end of 2025.
Earlier Daryo reported that during the International Conference on Food Security in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 8, the Agri-Food Investment Forum was convened to highlight the agricultural capabilities of participating nations. Over 100 companies from 26 countries actively engaged in the event, leading to the signing of agreements totaling $1.88 bn.
These agreements cover various initiatives, including:
- Direct Investment: Contracts worth $857.3 mn were signed for 24 projects aimed at attracting foreign direct investment.
- Grants and Funding: International financial institutions committed $707.5 mn to support 14 projects.
- Trade Agreements: Additional deals worth $319.2 mn were established to enhance international trade relations.
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