TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, January 18. Uzbekistan needs to increase exports by at least 30 percent a year to raise the economy to a new level, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said, Trend reports.
According to Sherzod Asadov, press secretary of the President, a meeting was held on the main tasks in investment, exports, and international cooperation.
He also noted that the export plan of Uzbekistan's administration and governors for 2024 is insufficient.
“The exports grew by 23.3 percent in the first 11 months of 2023, while exports excluding gold grew by only 5.7 percent,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.
However, two driving industries and four country regions saw export volumes decline last year compared to 2022. At the same time, exports in 10 districts and cities did not even reach half of the previous year's figures.
Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov has been instructed to take disciplinary measures against the deputy governors for investment of Andijan, Bukhara, Kashkadarya, and Navoi regions, as well as against the governors of 10 districts and cities.
Meanwhile, as per data provided by Uzbekistan's State Statistics Committee, the country's foreign trade turnover exceeded $50 billion from January through October of 2023.
Exports accounted for 40.2 percent of overall international trade transactions, totaling $20.4 billion, a significant 29.1 percent rise. Meanwhile, imports accounted for 59.8 percent of total trade, totaling $30.5 billion, a 22.7 percent increase. By the conclusion of the eleventh month, the negative balance in foreign trade had reached $10 billion.
