Baku, Azerbaijan, March 12
By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:
Uzbek Central Bank published the results of a survey of enterprises on the state and expectations in the real sector of the economy in the fourth quarter of 2018, Trend reports via Uzbek media.
There were 433 enterprises of the construction, tourism, transport, food, light, chemical, and oil and gas industries that took part in the survey, including those belonging to Uzbekneftegaz, Uzbekenergo, Uzavtosanoat, Uzbekistan Railways and Uzbekistan Airways.
The share of enterprises and organizations that raised prices for their products in the fourth quarter was 58 percent.
About 90 percent of enterprises of the oil and gas industry, 89 percent of the grain processing industry, 80 percent of the electric power industry, 72 percent of the food industry, 53 percent of the chemical industry, 46 percent of the building materials industry, 45 percent of the light industry, 78 percent - the scope of construction work, 62 percent - the scope of transport services, 58 percent - the sphere of trade and public catering reported the rise in prices during the survey.
The share of enterprises and organizations engaged in the export of goods decreased from 35 percent in the third quarter to 32 percent in the fourth quarter in the light, chemical and food industries, as well as in transport services.
Among the factors hindering the increase in export volumes, respondents cited low demand in foreign markets for enterprise products (24 percent), high transport costs (20 percent), complexity of export-related procedures (16 percent) and unavailability of information on demand and prices for goods enterprises in foreign markets (13 percent).
In 2019, 84 percent of enterprises and organizations predict a rise in prices for goods compared to 2018, of which 46 percent expect a rise in prices in the range of 10–15 percent, and 20 percent - by more than 20 percent.
Enterprises and organizations that expect growth in the volume of production of goods accounted for 78 percent: 13 percent of respondents predict growth rates in the range of 1–4 percent, 21 percent of respondents in the range of 5–8 percent, 28 percent of enterprises and organizations in the range of 9–12 percent and 22 percent of respondents within 13-20 percent.
Among exporters, 77 percent of respondents expect an increase in exports compared to 2018, of which 15 percent expect growth in the range of 1–4 percent, 18 percent of respondents in the range of 5–8 percent, and 32 percent in the range of 9–12 percent.
The respondent enterprises that expected an increase in investment in fixed assets amounted to 44 percent.
---
Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri
