Tarleplast, a subsidiary of the private company Plasteks, is the market leader in the production and sales of PET products in Uzbekistan. The company is a fully integrated producer of PET packaging products, producing PET pre-forms, caps and polyethelene film. Tarleplast is located in Tashkent and working with equipment from leading Western manufacturers.

The increase in demand for PET packaging in Uzbekistan has been triggered by the strong growth in the non-alcoholic beverage sector in the country. Only 8 per cent of packaging is glass. Though rising, the consumption of bottled water and soft drinks in Uzbekistan is far below international levels: While per capita consumption in Uzbekistan was 25 litres in 2007, it was 60 litres in Russia and 300 litres in Western Europe.

Gilles Mettetal, EBRD Director for Agribusiness, said the Bank’s support for the expansion of Tarleplast was a sign of the EBRD’s confidence in the company. “We strongly believe the installation of new production lines and the new approach in the procurement of raw materials will further strengthen an already successful local enterprise.”

In the agribusiness sector, the EBRD has directly committed more than €4.6 billion in over 320 projects across central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.