28.06.2022

On June 28, under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the videoconferencing was held on the measures to increase a cotton yield and expand the textile exports.

The textile industry has enormous export and employment potential.

Therefore, on the initiative of the President, the cluster system has been fully implemented in the industry. Over the past three years, more than 23 trillion Uzbek soums of concessional resources have been allocated to cotton and textile clusters. In addition, they have invested almost 7 trillion Uzbek soums of their own funds.

Consequently, about 350 large factories were put into operation. The volume of production increased 5 times compared to 2016, the exports - 4 times, reaching almost 3 billion US dollars.

If five years ago only 40% of the cotton fiber harvested in the country was processed, today this figure has reached 100%.

Processing capacity reached 1.3 million tons. However, 1 million tons of fiber is actually produced. In other words, 300,000 tons are missing. The shortfall is expected to increase by another 600,000 tons over the next five years.

The degree of processing yarn into a finished product is also low – 23%. This means that every year the opportunity to generate 9 billion US dollars in revenues is lost.

Today, 400,000 people work in the textile industry. If the whole system is properly organized based on the scientific approach and modern technologies, the number of jobs can be increased up to 1 million.

In this regard, it was discussed the possibility of increasing a cotton yield using scientifically justified approaches of seed production and agricultural technologies, doubling the export of the industry through deep processing of raw materials.

This essentially requires a stable access to quality raw materials. The cotton varieties with a yield of up to 100 centners, created by our scientists, do not reach the cotton farmers.

The fact that in recent years the day and night temperatures have equalized, the spread of the new pest species requires the development of varieties resistant to these conditions. It is necessary to change the methods of fertilizing cotton, to regulate the use of herbicides and pesticides.

Therefore, the President has proposed to create a Council for Cotton Growing at the President headed by the Minister of Innovative Development.

The Council shall annually determine the breeding and planting of high-yield and early-ripe varieties by region and clusters, develop a fertilizer application scheme adapted to climatic and temperature changes, regulate the use of herbicides and pesticides. In addition, the agricultural technologies suitable for each region shall be developed to combat the insect pests. For this purposes, a scientific center shall be established at the Council.

The President has emphasized that each cluster should have the seed, soil and biological laboratories, as well as seed preparation workshops.

The issue of water conservation was raised. Over the past two years, a drip irrigation has been introduced at 169,000 hectares of cotton fields in the country. However, many clusters, especially farmers, face difficulties in implementing this technology, including because of its high cost.

It was noted that if there is free competition in the sphere and a scientific approach, the cost of introducing drip irrigation can be reduced to 15-20 million soums per hectare. Therefore, the task was set to include all suppliers of water-saving technologies in a special electronic portal, to create a transparent system that would evaluate the cost of water-saving technologies and the quality of services.

It was determined that the legal guarantees for the activities of clusters shall be strengthened, no more than 2 clusters will be possible to organize at a district.

The issues of increasing production and export of finished products were discussed at the meeting. In this regard, it is set to create separate industrial zones with broad conditions for entrepreneurs. The Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade was instructed to involve foreign companies and well-known brands in production.

«After the boycott on our cotton was lifted, the foreign companies show a great interest in cooperation with local enterprises, in our products. If brands are not brought to our regions, it will be difficult for the domestic products to compete in the global market», Shavkat Mirziyoyev has said.

It was noted that exporters of dyed knitwear and fabrics will be provided with subsidies of up to 10%, and separate flights will be launched to supply the finished products to the foreign brands. The tasks were set to organize the production of the necessary fittings and accessories for brands.

The measures have been identified to further expand the mechanisms for supporting the textile enterprises. In particular, the Export Promotion Agency shall provide exporting enterprises with resources in the amount of up to $5 million to replenish their working capital. The limit on the area of ​​warehouses abroad, the rental costs of which are subject to compensation, shall be increased from 100 to 500 square meters. For these purposes, the Agency will be allocated $100 million.

The President has noted the need for the transition of textile enterprises to international financial reporting standards.

«It will pave the way for entering the global market, cooperation with the foreign brands and attracting direct loans», the President said.

The measures are also planned for the uninterrupted supply of textile enterprises with raw materials. The recommendations were given on the regular introduction of cotton fiber and yarn to the stock exchange, and the improvement of the system of payments for them.

It was noted that the tax and customs administering shall be simplified for the industry. In particular, the procedure for processing raw materials in the customs territory is to be simplified.

A main attention was paid to the personnel training. The Institute of Textile and Light Industry and the Uzbek-Korean Textile Technopark shall be integrated and a dual education system shall be introduced at the Institute from a new academic year.

The opinions of Deputy Prime Ministers, officials of the industry, khokims and entrepreneurs were heard on the issues discussed at the meeting.