Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - The President signed Resolution “On measures to further accelerate reforms and increase the export potential of the leather, footwear and fur industries.”

As part of the implementation of priority tasks identified as part of the President’s dialogue with entrepreneurs, held on 18 August 2023, a system of cooperation is being introduced between leather processing enterprises and livestock clusters, and enterprises involved in slaughtering livestock, as well as business entities involved in collecting leather raw materials from the population, and self-employed individuals.

Compensation payments to compensate for losses in agricultural and forestry production associated with the allocation of land for the creation of enterprises in the leather, footwear and fur industries and enterprises specialized in slaughter are paid, as an exception, by enterprises in monthly equal installments for one year.

For investment projects located in the created 16 specialized leather and footwear small industrial zones:

the starting price of land plots put up for electronic online auctions is calculated based on a 25-year period;

land plots are put up for electronic online auctions in the amount of 10% of a certain starting price;

funds for land plots are paid by the winners of electronic online auctions within three years in equal shares.

Financial support and benefits

For the construction of a centralized water treatment plant in the leather and footwear small industrial zone created in Akhangaran district of Tashkent region, a loan of up to 50 billion soums is allocated from the republican budget for 10 years.

At the same time, leather processing enterprises for the construction and management of a centralized water treatment plant establish a single enterprise in equal shares, which, starting from the second year, annually returns the specified loan to the republican budget in equal shares.

To further support exporting enterprises, until 1 January 2025, no fee is collected when exporting semi-finished leather products of small cattle (HS codes 4105, 4106 21 000 0) across the customs border of Uzbekistan.

Within the existing resources of the Export Support Fund, based on the volume of exports carried out over the past 12 months, financial resources are allocated for up to two years to finance pre-export and export trade operations in the amount of:

up to US$1 million – with export volumes from US$1 million to US$2 million;

up to US$2 million – with export volumes from US$2 million to US$4 million;

up to US$3 million – with an export volume of over US$4 million. In this case, financial resources are provided at a rate not exceeding 4% per annum (of which 2% is the bank’s margin).

To create trading houses and stores abroad by enterprises in the leather, footwear and fur industries, it is allowed to transfer funds abroad up to US$50 thousand per year without making separate decisions.

The document also approved the Program for the further development of the leather and footwear industry and the establishment of cooperation with foreign brands in 2024–2026.