What Are The Biggest Industries In

Uzbekistan?

A cotton field in Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan is an agrarian state with vast deposits of oil,
gold, uranium, and gas. Its economy relies on the production of
raw materials especially cotton. The Soviet-era infrastructure
including country-roads, chemical plants, irrigation networks,
and factories was established to support the cotton industry.
Despite the mass production of cotton, the country does not
produce a lot of finished textile products.
Since independence, the government has committed to the
transition to a diversified market-based economy that is resilient
and offers more opportunities. The implementation of economic
policies has been cautious, but the country has made significant
strides. The government continues to struggle with the black
market even after introducing the official exchange rate to
stabilize the national currency. Uzbekistan’s restrictive and
interventionist trade policies continue to hinder the growth of
the economy, but it has the potential to improve by
strengthening the financial system, improving the business
climate to attract foreign investors, and reducing the grip on
some sectors of the economy such as the agricultural sector. The
government also places restrictions on currency conversion and
import restrictions. Uzbekistan and the International Monetary
Fund have made considerable progress in curbing budget deficit
and reducing inflation. Today, the manufacturing and agriculture
industries contribute equally to the economy and account for
half the GDP of the country.
The Biggest Industries In Uzbekistan
In 2006, agriculture accounted for 24% of the GDP and
employed 28% of the labor force in the country. As of 2017, the
weight of agriculture in the economy had dropped to 17% of the
GDP and 21% of the labor force. The drop is attributed to the
diversification of the economy in favor of the processing,
manufacturing, and technological Industries. The primary
agricultural products include cotton, fruits, vegetables, livestock,
grain, wool, and silk. The Netherlands, Russia, and Poland have
strengthened agricultural ties with Uzbekistan by providing
technical support and opening their markets. Cotton was once
the preferred crop, but it has lost preference to wheat and other
grains as the country moves towards food security. Land under
cotton has reduced by half since independence paving the way
for vast fields of wheat and ranches. However, the government
controls the production of cotton and wheat, and in most cases,
it pays the farmers poorly, prompting them to shift towards the
production of vegetables and fruits where prices are determined
by demand and supply. Middlemen and brokers have taken
advantage of these restrictions to obtain cotton and wheat from
farmers and smuggle them out of the border
to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
External Trade And Foreign Investment
In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, government regulations on
trade resulted in significant drops of exports and imports. In
2003, the state began the process of stabilizing the economy and
liberalizing the currency, and consequently, exports rose to
US$8.4 billion as of 2017. Sporadic border closures and
draconian border tariffs present barriers to legal trade of both
capital equipment and consumer product forcing farmers and
businessmen to seek alternative ways of exporting and
importing goods. The country is a member of the
Commonwealth of Independent States and therefore exports and
imports goods from member countries. Kazakhstan, Ukraine,
and Russia account for 40% of Uzbekistan’s foreign trade while
the European Union, South Korea, Iran, China, and Turkey are
key emerging markets.
Energy And Natural Resources
Uzbekistan is the seventh largest producer of gold with an
average output of about 80 tons annually. It ranks 4th in gold
reserves. Vast deposits of natural gas and oil provides enough
for export and domestic use. Reserves of lead, copper, zinc,
uranium, and tungsten have also been found. Uzbekistan is
among the few self-sufficient countries in energy production. It
ranks second among the Caspian gas producers behind
Turkmenistan. Natural gas and oil account for 97% of the
energy produced making it the largest producer of electricity
in Central Asia with a total output of 12,500 MW. About 95%
of the country is covered by electricity with the remaining 5%
being remote villages with poor accessibility.

Financial Sector
The financial system in Uzbekistan is closely controlled and
monitored by the state through regulatory actions,
proclamations, decrees, and practices. Most banks are wholly or
 partially owned by the government while most loans are
channeled to pre-selected sectors. The slow pace of reforms in
the financial sector limits the ability of the banks to offer
monetary assistant to companies and citizens thus inhibiting the
growth of the economy. Although the government monitors and
governs the activities of the commercial banks, it is unable to
enforce all regulations
Economy of Uzbekistan
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Economy of Uzbekistan

Currency Sum (UZS)

Fiscal year Calendar year
Trade CIS, ECO, SCO, CISFTA, WTO (
organisatio observer)
ns
Country Developing/Emerging[1]
group Lower-middle income
economy[2]
Statistics
Population 35,955,400 (2022)[3]
GDP $90.392 billion (nominal,
2023 est.)[4]
$371.646 billion (PPP, 2023
est.)[4]
GDP rank 73th (nominal, 2023)
57th (PPP, 2023)
GDP growth 5.4% (2018) 5.6% (2019e)
1.6% (2020f) 7.4% (2021f)[5]
GDP per $2,509 (nominal, 2023)[4]
capita $10,316 (PPP, 2023)[4]
GDP per 143st (nominal, 2023)
capita rank 124th (PPP, 2023)
GDP by agriculture: 17.9%
sector industry: 33.7%
services: 48.5%
(2017 est.)[6]
Inflation (CP14.1% (2020 est.)[4]
I)
Population 14% (2016 est.)[6]
below pove 10.4% on less than
rty line $3.20/day (2019)[7]
Gini 36.7 medium (2013)[8]
coefficient
Human 0.727 high (2021)[9] (101th)
Developme N/A IHDI (2021)[10]
nt Index
Labour 15,555,364 (2019)[11]
force 67.4% employment rate
(2018)[12]
Labour agriculture: 25.9%
force by industry: 13.2%
occupation services: 60.9%
(2012 est.)[6]
Unemploym 5.3% (2020)[13]
ent 20% underemployed (2017
est.)[6]
Main automotive, textiles, food
industries processing, machine building,
metallurgy, mining,
hydrocarbon extraction,
 chemicals[6]
Ease-of- 69th (easy, 2020)[14]
doing-
business
rank
External
Exports $11.48 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Export energy products, cotton, gold,
goods mineral fertilizers, ferrous
and nonferrous metals,
textiles, foodstuffs,
machinery, automobiles[6]
Main export Switzerland 16.4%
partners China 13.2%
United Kingdom 12.8%
Russia 11.6%
Turkey 11.5%
Kazakhstan 6.9%
Kyrgyzstan 5.2%
Afghanistan 3.4%
Tajikistan 2.3%
Singapore 2.1% (2021)[15]
Imports $25.42 billion (2021 est.)[6]
Import machinery and equipment,
goods foodstuffs, chemicals, ferrous
and nonferrous metals[6]
Main China 23.1%
import Russia 21%
partners Kazakhstan 10.1%
South Korea 7.8%
 Turkey 7.6%
Germany 2.8%
Turkmenistan 2.5%
Italy 1.79%
India 1.74%
Ukraine 1.71% (2021)[16]
Current $1.713 billion (2017 est.)[6]
account
Gross exter $16.9 billion (31 December
nal debt 2017 est.)[6]
Public finances
Governmen 24.3% of GDP (2017 est.)[6]
t debt
Budget +0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[6]
balance
Revenues 15.22 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Expenses 15.08 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Economic ai $172.3 million from
d the U.S. (2005)
Foreign $16 billion (31 December
reserves 2017 est.)[6]
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book
All values, unless otherwise stated, are
in US dollars.

The economy of Uzbekistan was formerly associated

with a Soviet-style command economy, with a slow
transformation to a market economy.[17] However, in recent
years and since the election of President Shavkat
Mirziyoyev the country has seen rapid economic and
social reform, aimed at boosting growth and transforming
Uzbekistan into a true, modern market economy.
[18]
International Financial Institutions,
including EBRD, Asian Development Bank and the World
Bank are actively engaging in supporting Uzbekistan's
successful reform process and have rapidly increased
their presence in the country.[19]
To this point, governmental economic policy reforms had
been cautious. Under the administration of Islam
Karimov currency conversion capacity was restricted and
many other government measures to control economic
activity, including the implementation of severe import
restrictions and sporadic closures of Uzbekistan's borders
with neighboring Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
and Tajikistan led international lending organizations to
suspend or scale back credits.
Uzbekistan is a major producer and exporter of cotton,
and bans on cotton import were implemented in the early
2010s due to international human rights concerns.
However, in 2022, the Cotton Campaign and other
agencies, including the US Government, lifted all bans on
the import[20] of Uzbek cotton. Uzbekistan is also a big
producer of gold, with the largest open-pit gold mine in the
world. The country has substantial deposits of silver,
strategic minerals, gas, and oil.
Since 2016 and the new president Shavkat Mirziyoyev
coming to his position, there have been significant
economic reforms in Uzbekistan. The country liberalised
the currency in 2017, allowing freer flows of foreign
currency and allowing the import and export of goods, and
the path to foreign investment.[21] 2019 tax reforms also
allowed company consolidation, tax simplification and the
professionalisation of the Private sector.[22] The
Government is also committed to privatisation of State
Owned Enterprises (SOEs), with the domestic IPO of
UzAuto predicted in 2022.[23]
The Uzbekistan Economic Forum run by the Ministry of
Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, brings together
IFIs, businesses, government officials and other
stakeholders on an annual basis. The first iteration was in
Tashkent, and the Uzbekistan Economic Forum II took
place in Samarkand.[24] In December 2022, the Uzbek
Government received a loan from the World Bank of
almost US$1bn to "implement strategic reforms".[25]
GDP and employment[edit]
This is a chart depicting the trend of the gross domestic
product in Uzbekistan in constant prices of 1995,
estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures
in millions of soum.[26] The chart also shows the consumer
price index(CPI) as a measure of inflation from the same
source and the end-of-year U.S. dollar exchange rate from
the Central Bank of the Uzbekistan database.[27] For
purchasing power parity comparisons in 2006, the U.S.
dollar is exchanged at 340 som.[28]

GDP (constant US Dollar CPI

Year
prices) Exchange (2000=100)

199
330,042 1 soum 0.07
2

199
302,790 36 soum 20
5
200
356,325 325 soum 100
0

200
402,361 980 soum 166
3

200
497,525 1,240 soum 226
6

Uzbekistan:
growth of GDP in constant prices 1992–2008[28]
Uzbekistan's GDP, like that of all CIS countries, declined
during the first years of transition and then recovered after
1995, as the cumulative effect of policy reforms began to
be felt. It has shown robust growth, rising by 4% per year
between 1998 and 2003, and accelerating thereafter to
7%-8% per year. In 2011 the growth rate came up to 9%.
Given the growing economy, the total number of people
employed rose from 8.5 million in 1995 to 13.5 million in
2011.[29] This healthy increase of nearly 25% in the labor
force lagged behind the increase in GDP during the same
period (64%, see chart), which implies a significant
increase in labor productivity. Official unemployment is
very low: less than 30,000 job seekers were registered in
government labor exchanges in 2005-2006 (0.3% of the
labor force).[29] Underemployment, on the other hand, is
believed to be quite high, especially in agriculture, which
accounts for fully 28% of all employed, many of them
working part-time on tiny household plots. However, no
reliable figures are available due to the absence of
credible labor surveys.
The minimum wage, public-sector wages, and old-age
pensions are routinely raised twice a year to ensure that
base income is not eroded by inflation. Although no
statistics are published on average wages in Uzbekistan,
pensions as a proxy for the average wage increased
significantly between 1995 and 2006, both in real terms
and in U.S. dollars. The monthly old-age pension
increased in real (CPI-adjusted) soums by almost a factor
of 5 between 1995 and 2006.[29] The monthly pension in
U.S. dollars was around $20–$25 until 2000, then dropped
to $15–$20 between 2001 and 2004, and now is $64. The
minimum wage was raised to $34.31 in November 2011.
[30]
Assuming that the average wages in the country are at
a level of 3-4 times the monthly pension, we estimate the
wages in 2006 at $100–$250 per month, or $3–$8 per
day.
According to the forecast by the Asian Development Bank,
the GDP in Uzbekistan in 2009 is expected to grow by 7%.
[31]
Meanwhile, in 2010 the Uzbekistan GDP growth is
predicted at 6,5%.[31]
Labor[edit]
Literacy in Uzbekistan is almost universal, and workers
are generally well-educated and trained accordingly in
their respective fields. Most local technical and managerial
training does not meet international business standards,
but foreign companies engaged in production report that
locally hired workers learn quickly and work effectively.
The government emphasizes foreign education. Each year
hundreds of students are sent to the United
States, Europe, and Japan for university degrees, after
which they have a commitment to work for the government
for 5 years. Reportedly, about 60% of students who study
abroad find employment with foreign companies upon
completing their degrees, despite their 5-year commitment
to work in the government. Some American companies
offer their local employees special training programs in the
United States.
In addition, Uzbekistan subsidizes studies for students
at Westminster International University in Tashkent—one
of the few Western-style institutions in Uzbekistan. In
2002, the government "Istedod" Foundation (formerly as
"Umid" Foundation) is paying for 98 out of 155 students
studying at Westminster. For the next academic year,
Westminster is expecting to admit 360 students, from
which Istedod is expecting to pay for 160 students. The
education at Westminster costs $5,200 per academic
year. In 2008 Management Development Institute of
Singapore at Tashkent started its work. This university
provides high quality education with international degree.
Tuition fee was $5000 in 2012. In 2009 Turin Polytechnik
University was opened. It is the only university in Central
Asia that prepares high quality employees for industries.
With the closing or downsizing of many foreign firms, it is
relatively easy to find qualified employees, though salaries
are very low by Western standards. Salary caps, which the
government implements in an apparent attempt to prevent
firms from circumventing restrictions on withdrawal of cash
from banks, prevent many foreign firms from paying their
workers as much as they would like. Labor market
regulations in Uzbekistan are similar to those of the Soviet
Union, with all rights guaranteed but some rights
unobserved. Unemployment is a growing problem, and the
number of people looking for jobs in Russia, Kazakhstan,
and Southeast Asia is increasing each year. Uzbekistan's
Ministry of Labor does not publish information on Uzbek
citizens working abroad, but Russia's Federal Migration
Service reports 2.5 million Uzbek migrant workers in
Russia. There are also indications of up to 1 million Uzbek
migrants working illegally in Kazakhstan.[32] Uzbekistan's
migrant workers may thus be around 3.5-4 million people,
or a staggering 25% of its labor force of 14.8 million.
[29]
The U.S. Department of State also estimates that
between three and five million Uzbek citizens of working
age live outside Uzbekistan.[33]
After 2016 Uzbekistan has admitted the lack of higher
education offers in the country to support its labor market
needs.[34] Since 2016 a number of higher educational
providers have started operating in Uzbekistan, including
in cooperation with foreign universities.[35] Moreover,
private higher education providers started to emerge on
the market to provide students with necessary skills,
knowledge and competencies required on the labor
market. One of the private universities in Tashkent TEAM
University aims at development of skills necessary for
starting entrepreneurial activities, thus contributing to
development of businesses and private enterprises.
Prices and monetary policy[edit]
Uzbekistan experienced galloping inflation of around
1000% per year immediately after independence (1992–
1994). Stabilization efforts implemented with active
guidance from the International Monetary Fund rapidly
paid off, as inflation rates were brought down to 50% in
1997 and then to 22% in 2002. Since 2003 annual inflation
rates averaged less than 10%.[28]
The severe inflationary pressures that characterized the
early years of independence inevitably led to a dramatic
depreciation of the national currency. The exchange rate
of Uzbekistan's first currency, the "notional" rouble
inherited from the Soviet period and its successor, the
transient "coupon soum" introduced in November 1993 in
a ratio of 1:1 to the rouble, went up from 100 roubles/US$
in the early 1992 to 3,627 roubles (or coupon soum) in
mid-April 1994. On July 1, 1994 the "coupon soum" was
replaced with the permanent new Uzbek soum (UZS) in a
ratio of 1000:1, and the starting exchange rate for the new
national currency was set at 7 soum/US$, implying an
almost two-fold depreciation since mid-April. Within the
first six months, between July and December 1994, the
national currency depreciated further to 25 soum/US$ and
continued depreciating at a fast clip until December 2002,
when the exchange rate had reached 969 soum/US$, i.e.,
138 times the starting exchange rate eight and a half
years earlier or nearly 10,000 times the exchange rate in
early 1992, soon after the declaration of independence.
[27]
Then the depreciation of the soum virtually stopped in
response to the government's stabilization program, which
at the same time dramatically reduced the inflation rates.
During the four years that followed (2003–2007) the
exchange rate of the soum to the US dollar increased only
by a factor of 1.33, from 969 soum to around 1,865 soum
in May 2012.
From 1996 until the spring of 2003, the official and so-
called "commercial" exchange rate – both set
administratively by the Central Bank – were highly
overvalued. Many businesses and individuals were unable
to buy dollars legally at these "low" rates, so a widespread
black market developed to meet hard currency demand.
The spread between the official exchange rate and the
curb rate widened especially after the Russian financial
crisis of August 1998: at the end of 1999 the curb rate
stood at 550 soum/US$ compared with the official rate of
140 soum/US$, a gap by nearly a factor of 4 (up from a
factor of "only" 2 in 1997 and the first half of 1998).[36] By
mid-2003, the government's stabilization and liberalization
efforts had reduced the gap between the black market,
official, and commercial rates to approximately 8% and it
quickly disappeared as the soum was made convertible
after October 2003. Today, four foreign currencies—the
U.S. dollar, the euro, the pound sterling, and the yen—are
freely exchanged in commercial booths all around the
cities, while other currencies, including the Russian
rouble and the Kazakh tenge, are bought and sold by
individual ("black market") money changers, who are
allowed to operate openly without harassment. The foreign
exchange regime since October 2003 is characterized as
"controlled floating rate".[37] Liberalization of the trade
regime remains a prerequisite for Uzbekistan to proceed
to an IMF-financed program. In 2012, "black market" rate
is again significantly higher than official rate,
2,850 soum/US$ vs. 1,865 soum/US$ (as of mid-June
2011). This curb rate is often referred to as 'bazar rate',
because money changers operate at or near 'bazars' -
large farmer markets.
Tax collection rates remained high, due to the use of the
banking system by the government as a collection agency.
Technical assistance from the World Bank, Office of
Technical Assistance at the U.S. Treasury Department,
and UNDP is being provided in reforming the Central Bank
and Ministry of Finance into institutions capable of
conducting market-oriented fiscal and monetary policy.
Agriculture[edit]
In 2018, Uzbekistan produced:[38]
 5.4 million tonnes of wheat;
 2.9 million tons of potato;

 2.2 million tons of cotton (8th largest producer in the

world);
 2.2 million tons of tomato (14th largest producer in the

world);
 2.1 million tonnes of carrot (2nd largest producer in the

world, just behind China);

 1.8 million tons of watermelon (8th largest producer in

the world);
 1.5 million tons of grape (15th largest producer in the

world);
 1.4 million tons of onion (15th largest producer in the

world);
 1.1 million tons of apple (14th largest producer in the

world);
 857 thousand tons of cucumber (7th largest producer in

the world);
 743 thousand tons of cabbage;

 493 thousand tons of apricot (2nd largest producer in

the world, just behind Turkey);

 413 thousand tons of maize;

 254 thousand tons of garlic;

 221 thousand tons of rice;

 172 thousand tons of cherry;

 161 thousand tons of peach;

 134 thousand tons of plum (17th largest producer in the

world);
In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural
products.[38]
At the end of 2013, the government announced through
the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan that it
predicted agriculture as playing a major component of the
country's economic development in the future.
[39]
Agriculture in Uzbekistan employs 28% of labor force
and contributes 24% of GDP (2006 data).[29] Another 8% of
GDP is from processing of domestic agricultural output.
[40]
Cotton, once Uzbekistan's star cash earner, has lost
much its luster since independence as wheat began to
gain prominence from considerations of food security for
the rapidly growing population. Areas cropped to cotton
were reduced by more than 25% from 2 million hectares in
1990 to less than 1.5 million hectares in 2006, while wheat
cultivation jumped 60% from around 1 million hectares in
1990 to 1.6 million hectares in 2006. Cotton production
dropped from 3 million tons annually in the pre-
independence decade to around 1.2 million tons since
1995, but even at these reduced levels Uzbekistan
produces 3 times as much cotton as all the other Central
Asian countries and Azerbaijan combined.
Cotton exports tumbled from highs of around 45% of
Uzbekistan's total exports in the early 1990s to 17% in
2006. Uzbekistan is the largest producer of jute in West
Asia and it also produces significant quantities
of silk (Uzbek ikat), fruit, and vegetables, with food
products contributing nearly 8% of total exports in 2006.
Virtually all agriculture requires irrigation, but because of
budgetary constraints there has been practically no
expansion of irrigated area since independence: it remains
static at 4.2 million hectares, the level reached by 1990
after rapid growth during the Soviet period.
Government intervention in agriculture is reflected in the
persistence of state orders for the two main cash crops,
cotton and wheat. Farmers receive binding directives on
the area to be cropped to these commodities and are
obliged to surrender their harvest to designated marketers
at state-fixed prices. The incomes of farmers and
agricultural workers are substantially lower than the
national average because the government pays them less
than the world prices for their cotton and wheat, using the
difference to subsidize capital intensive industrial
concerns, such as factories
producing automobiles, airplanes, and tractors.
Consequently, many farmers focus on production
of fruits and vegetables on their small household plots,
because the prices of these commodities are determined
by supply and demand, not by government decrees.
Farmers also resort to smuggling cotton and especially
wheat across the border with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
in order to obtain higher prices.
The government's discriminatory pricing for the main cash
crops, cotton and wheat, is apparently responsible for the
exceptionally rapid growth of the cattle herd in recent
years, as the prices of milk and meat, like those of fruits
and vegetables, are also determined by market forces.
The number of cattle increased from 4 million head in
1990 to 7 million head in 2006, and virtually all these
animals are maintained by rural families with just 2-3 head
per household.[29] Sales of own-produced milk, meat, and
vegetables in town markets are an important source for
augmenting rural family incomes.
The Soviet practice of using "volunteer labor" to help
gathering the cotton harvest continues in Uzbekistan
where schoolchildren, university students, medical
professionals, and state employees are driven en masse
out to the fields every year.[32] A recent article posted by a
domestic news agency (admittedly with strong anti-
government leanings) describes Uzbekistan's cotton as
"riches gathered by the hands of hungry children".[41]
Natural resources and energy[edit]
In 2019, the country was the 5th largest world producer
of uranium;[42] 12th largest world producer of gold;[43] 7th
largest world producer of rhenium;[44] 12th largest world
producer of molybdenum;[45] 21st largest world producer
of phosphate,[46] and the 19th largest world producer
of graphite[47]
Minerals and mining also are important to Uzbekistan's
economy. Gold, alongside cotton, is a major foreign
exchange earner, unofficially estimated at around 20% of
total exports.[33] Uzbekistan is the world's seventh-largest
gold producer, mining about 80 tons per year, and holds
the fourth-largest reserves in the world. Uzbekistan has an
abundance of natural gas, used both for domestic
consumption and export; oil used for domestic
consumption; and significant reserves
of copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, and uranium. Inefficiency
in energy use is generally high, because the low controlled
prices do not stimulate consumers to conserve energy.
Uzbekistan is a partner country of
the EU INOGATE energy programme, which has four key
topics: enhancing energy security, convergence of
member state energy markets on the basis of EU internal
energy market principles, supporting sustainable
energy development, and attracting investment for energy
projects of common and regional interest.[48]
The country's largest steel manufacturer is
Uzmetkombinat.[49] The company is planning an IPO in
2023.[50]
External trade and investment[edit]
 Uzbekistan export destinations in
2006
Since the 2017 liberalisation of the foreign exchange
market, Uzbekistan has seen rapid growth in exports.
Traditional export products such as gas and cotton are
now kept domestically for processing. They have been
replaced by a vast growth in exports in areas such as fruit,
[51]
textiles[52] and home appliances. In recent years textile
export has doubled in revenue to almost US$3bn worth of
goods exports.[53] Home appliance manufacturer Artel has
seen exports rise from $5.6m in 2017, to around $100m in
2021.[54]
Before this, the system of multiple exchange rates
combined with the highly regulated trade regime caused
both imports and exports to drop each from about US$4.5
billion in 1996 to less than US$3 billion in 2002.[29] The
success of stabilization and currency liberalization in 2003
has led to significant increases in exports and imports in
recent years, although imports have increased much less
rapidly: while exports had more than doubled to US$15.5
by 2011, imports had risen to US$6.5 billion only,
reflecting the impact of the government's import
substitution policies designed to maintain hard currency
reserves. Draconian tariffs, sporadic border closures, and
border crossing "fees" have a negative effect on legal
imports of both consumer products and capital equipment.
Uzbekistan is a member of the International Monetary
Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank,
and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
It has observer status at the World Trade Organization, is
a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization,
and is a signatory to the Convention on Settlement of
Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of
Other States, the Paris Convention for the Protection of
Industrial Property, the Madrid Agreement on Trademarks
Protection, and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. In 2002,
Uzbekistan was again placed on the special "301" Watch
List for lack of intellectual copyright protection.

Daewoo Gentra is currently a flagship

of UzDaewooAuto.
Until 2017, according to EBRD transition indicators,
[55]
Uzbekistan's investment climate remains among the
least favorable in the CIS, with only Belarus and
Turkmenistan ranking lower. The unfavorable investment
climate has caused foreign investment inflows to dwindle
to a trickle. It is believed that Uzbekistan has the lowest
level of foreign direct investment per capita in the CIS.
Since Uzbekistan's independence, U.S. firms have
invested roughly $500 million in the country, but due to
declining investor confidence, harassment, and currency
convertibility problems, numerous international investors
have left the country or are considering leaving.[33] In 2005,
the Central Bank has revoked the license of the
nascent Biznes Bank citing unspecified violations of local
currency exchange rules. The revocation prompted
immediate bankruptcy procedures, under which clients'
deposits stay arrested for two month. No interest was
accrued during that two-month period. In 2006, the
Government of Uzbekistan forced out Newmont Mining
Corporation (at the time the largest U.S. investor) from its
gold mining joint venture in the Muruntau gold mine.
Newmont and the government resolved their dispute, but
the action adversely affected Uzbekistan's image among
foreign investors. The government attempted the same
with British-owned Oxus Mining. Coscom, a U.S.-owned
telecommunications company, involuntarily sold its stake
in a joint venture to another foreign company. GM-DAT, a
Korean subsidiary of GM, is the only known U.S. business
to have entered Uzbekistan in over two years. It recently
signed a joint-venture agreement with UzDaewooAuto to
assemble Korean-manufactured cars for export and
domestic sale. Other large U.S. investors in Uzbekistan
include Case IH, manufacturing and servicing cotton
harvesters and tractors; Coca-Cola, with bottling plants
in Tashkent, Namangan, and Samarkand; Texaco,
producing lubricants for sale in the Uzbek market;
and Baker Hughes, in oil and gas development.
Banking[edit]
Uzbekistan's banks have demonstrated reasonably stable
performance in a largely state-dominated local economy.
Sector stability is currently supported by rapid economic
growth, low exposure to external financial markets and the
strong external and fiscal position of the sovereign.
However, the sector remains vulnerable to possible
economic shocks due to weak corporate governance and
risk management, fast recent asset growth, significant
directed lending and acquisitions of problem assets.
Banks’ foreign currency obligations, specifically those
arising from trade finance, are particularly vulnerable due
to existing foreign exchange constraints.[56]
According to Fitch Ratings, there are notable risks of asset
quality deterioration in case of a reversal in economic
trends. The funding base is mainly short-term, largely
sourced from corporate current accounts, while retail
funds account for only a small 25% of total deposits.
Longer-term funding is provided by the Ministry of Finance
and other state agencies, which comprise a notable
proportion of sector liabilities. Foreign funding is small,
estimated at about 10% of the total liabilities, and plans for
further borrowings are moderate. Liquidity management is
constrained be the lack of deep capital markets, and
banks generally tend to hold substantial cash reserves on
their balance sheets. The quality of capital is sometimes
compromised by less conservative regulatory
requirements for recognition of credit impairment and by
investments in non-core assets.
Retail[edit]
Uzbekistan's retail sector remains dominated by traditional
markets, known as bozorlar, where individual vendors sell
food, housewares, clothing, and other consumer goods.
But the country's retail sector is rapidly modernizing.
[57]
The construction of modern supermarkets and malls
has accelerated in recent years.[58] The country's retail
market was estimated at $17 billion in 2017 and rising
incomes, population growth, and a move from informal to
formal retail are expected to drive continued expansion of
the sector.[59] Major supermarket chains include local
players Korzinka.uz and Makro (Uzbekistan) and the
French multinational chain Carrefour, which will open its
first store in Uzbekistan in 2021.[60] The country's first
modern shopping malls are located in Tashkent, and
include the Samarkand Darvoza and Compass
developments. The sector has also seen growth in online
retail.[61] In 2021, Korzinka acquired a US$40m stake in
Angelsey Foods, the Singapore mother entity of Korzinka.
[62]
In 2021, the company also signed a signed $12 million
in debt financing to promote food security and sustain the
livelihoods of more than 5,000 employees and 1,200 farm
workers in Uzbekistan.[63]
Tourism[edit]
Main article: Tourism in Uzbekistan
Silk road route's three important cities are located in
Uzbekistan, namely Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand.
There are numerous well connected tourist destinations in
Uzbekistan.[64] There are five UNESCO World Heritage
Sites in Uzbekistan and 30 are on tentative list.[65]
Miscellaneous data[edit]
The following table shows the main economic indicators in
1993–2017.[66]

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Yea 19 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
r 93 95 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
4 7 7 8 9
GD 38 37 0 1 3 4 5 7 9 0 2
9. 1. 9. 9. 9.
P in .2 .4 8. 8. 1. 4. 8. 4. 0. 7. 2.
1 6 3 2 1
$ 1 2 0 6 1 5 6 3 1 6 5
5 4 9 4 8
(PP Bl Bl 3 5 5 2 0 6 7 2 6
Bl Bl Bl Bl Bl
P) n. n. Bl Bl Bl Bl Bl Bl Bl Bl Bl
n. n. n. n. n.
n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n.

GD 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6,
P 74 64 0 7 0 3 6 9 2 6 8 2 6 0 5 9
per
capi
ta 0 6 2 4 7 4 7 5 5 4 6 7 1 2
8 9
in $ 5 4 0 9 2 6 7 5 4 4 9 6 9 9
(PP
P)

GD
P
−2 −0 3. 7. 7. 9. 9. 8. 8. 8. 8. 8. 8. 7. 7. 5.
gro
.6 .9 8 0 5 5 0 1 5 3 2 0 0 9 8 3
wth
% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %
(rea
l)

Infl
atio
53 30 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
n 9. 8. 8.
4. 4. 5. 0. 3. 1. 3. 2. 2. 2. 1. 1. 2.
(in 1 5 0
2 6 0 7 1 1 1 3 3 4 9 7 5
Per % % %
% % % % % % % % % % % % %
cen
t)

Gov ... ... 4 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 1 2

ern 2 8 1 6 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 % 1 5
me % % % % % % % % % % % % %
nt
deb
t
(Per
cen
tag
e of
GD
P)