Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Experts from the Institute for Macroeconomic and Regional Studies (IMRI) have assessed the positioning of regional exports to the German market.

The study used the criteria for identifying competitive advantages and territorial diversification of exports using the RCA (Revealed comparative advantage) and HHI (Herfindahl–Hirschman index) indices.

According to the study results, the most attractive products with export competitive advantages (RCA ≥ 1,000) in the German market are textiles (16.6% in 2022), clothing (15.7%), chemical fertilizers (12.6%), vegetables and fruits (7.2%), non-ferrous metals (6.9%), inorganic chemicals (3.1%).

Germany is a new emerging market for Uzbekistan. In 2018-2022, the export of Uzbek goods increased by more than 1.7 times and in 2022 amounted to US$88.9 million (0.5% of the country’s total exports).

The assessment of the territorial and commodity structure made it possible to identify the following features of regional exports for the above goods:

The dynamic growth of exports in Bukhara, Kashkadarya, Andijan, Jizzakh, Tashkent regions (2018-2022) was achieved by expanding the production capacity of food and industrial goods. At the same time, the leading regions exporting local goods to the German market are the city of Tashkent, Namangan, Tashkent, Jizzakh, Ferghana regions (more than ½ of the goods exported to Germany).

The group with relative territorial diversification of exports (export concentration index - ECI => 0) includes textile yarn, fabrics, finished products (0.371), clothing (0.454), vegetables and fruits (0.387): textile exporting regions (Andijan, Bukhara , Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, Syrdarya, Ferghana, Khorezm regions) and clothing (Andijan, Bukhara, Namangan, Samarkand, Tashkent regions) are characterized by the specialization of the economy in the processing of cotton fiber against the backdrop of entrepreneurial activity of the population.

In 2021, the GSP+ system of preferences was introduced in Uzbekistan, which allows exporting 6,200 varieties of goods to the EU countries without duties. As a result, Uzbek exports to the EU increased by 47.2% in 2022, Germany - by 23.1%, with more than 85% of the growth accounted for by textile products.

The group with relative export concentration (ECI => 1) includes non-ferrous metals (0.714), fertilizers and inorganic chemicals (1.000). The presence and use of mineral resources against the backdrop of a developed large business predetermined the Tashkent region and the city of Tashkent as the main exporters of these goods.

In general, the prospects for finding additional opportunities to strengthen the positions of the regions of Uzbekistan in the German market are related to:

- with the diversification of production and the search for ways to expand the export of textile products (Namangan, Samarkand, Tashkent), clothing (Syrdarya, Ferghana regions), the inclusion of local products in the global value chain;

- with the expansion of exports of electrical machines, apparatus and instruments, travel accessories and bags, leather products, which are in great demand in the EU countries (Andijan, Namangan, Tashkent, Ferghana regions, Tashkent);

- the development of export-oriented pharmaceutical products based on the organization of bilateral cooperation and the placement of joint Uzbek-German enterprises in pharmaceutical zones (for example, Zaamin-farm of Jizzakh, Kasansay-farm of Namangan, Syrdarya-farm of Syrdarya regions).

For the regions, it is expedient to stimulate the attraction of foreign investment in promising medium- and high-tech industries with high added value, including IT technologies, microbiology, breeding, etc.