BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 14
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
Uzbekistan intends to increase direct food supplies to Russia and exclude third countries from the chain, Trend reports referring to the Minister of Agriculture in Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev.
"Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Russian in the field of the agro-industrial complex is effectively developing. From January through August 2020, the volume of food product turnover between the countries increased by 60 percent compared to the same period last year and reached $630 million," Khodjaev said.
According to Khodjayev, both countries are of the opinion that it is necessary to continue joint efforts to establish direct supplies of agricultural food products and reduce the cases of supplies through third countries.
"The decision of the Russian government to reduce the VAT rate on fruits from 20 percent to 10 percent had a significant positive impact on the growth of direct supplies between our countries. I am confident that in the future we will be able to further increase the share of direct supplies," he outlined.
Khodjayev also noted that the green corridor for the supply of agricultural products continues to develop successfully. The number of checkpoints with a simplified form of phytosanitary control increased from seven units in 2018 to 22 units.
The minister also added that work is underway to create a solid trade infrastructure. Significant progress has been made in opening joint agro-logistics centers. In particular, an Uzbek-Russian joint venture was established to create an agrological center in the Jizzakh region.
"The complex will be commissioned within two years and will be able to process 260,000 tons of agricultural products annually for delivery to Russia. At the same time, we have moved on to the practical side of cooperation in the field of animal husbandry, fish farming, and food production," Khodjaev said.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @romakayeva
