October 16, 2014
X International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair.. 2
Uzbekistan Secures Leading Positions in the Global Cotton Market2
Uzbek FM meets Vice-President of German Bundestag. 4
X International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair
Uzbekistan Secures Leading Positions in the Global Cotton Market
That has been manifest yet another time by the 10th International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair that took place October 13-14 in Tashkent and organized under President Islam Karimov’s initiative.
The international fair has resulted in contracts for the supply of 580 thousand tons of Uzbek cotton fiber, and those worth more than 1 billion US dollars for the supply of domestic textile products. The Uzbek cotton and textiles are in great demand in the world market, helped considerably by this fair.
As it was pointed out at an international conference held as part of the fair, it has become one of the most significant events in the global cotton industry in 2014, and which gathered in excess of 1,000 representatives of business circles, experts and specialists from nearly 50 countries of the world in one place.
They have not only discussed a wide range of issues related to the cotton industry, including production and consumption, enhancement of trade and investment cooperation both in Uzbekistan and the entire planet, but also were introduced to quality characteristics of the Uzbek cotton and reached mutually beneficial deals. As experts suggested, Uzbekistan has made considerable achievements in recent years to uplift its export capacities, to consistently shift the structure of supplies to external markets from raw material orientation to finished goods with higher added value.
It was stressed that Uzbekistan’s cotton export policy is distinct with its provision for equal opportunities for all potential customers, absence of any limitations with regard to volumes of contracting, terms of payment and supply. The country uses a flexible system of fixation of prices in order to reduce the possibility of risks in the global market. Applied during several years, the transparent system of pricing on the basis of index A Cotlook helps avoid sharp fluctuations in prices on the Uzbek cotton.
Moreover, the logistics system established in the country that comprises more than 20 specialized cotton terminals, including 4 free storehouses, whose total volume of simultaneous storage reaches 410 thousand tons of cotton fiber, as well as the transport infrastructure facilitate a timely supply of Uzbek cotton to all customers. Export cotton operations are assigned to three external trade companies – Uzmarkazimpex, Uzprommashimpex and Uzinterimpex, who ensure stable supplies all year round jointly with their representative offices and trading houses abroad.
One of the most critical achievements of the cotton ginnery industry of the country has been the modernization and technological renewal of production capacities, the systemic introduction of international quality standards and technical regulations that ensure the competitiveness of products in external markets. This year alone, the technological modernization of four enterprises – Manghit Ginnery in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Muzrabad and Kyzyryk Ginneries in Surkhandarya Region, Baghat Ginnery in Khorezm Region – is projected to be completed in the sphere. In addition, a scheme has been underway by the Uzpaktasanoat Association in cooperation with the International Development Association to raise the energy efficiency of enterprises for the sum of 3.8 million dollars.
Special attention in the sector is paid to the expansion of mechanized picking of cotton, which reflects on growth in the production of domestic modern cotton harvesting machines that cater to the needs of Uzbekistan’s farmers in terms of technical characteristics and price parameters. More than 1,200 such cotton picking machines are currently at work in the country’s fields.
Along with that, measures are taken to elevate the liquidity and quality of the Uzbek cotton fiber. In particular, wide-ranging works are undertaken by local breeders, who have bred about ten new species of cotton in recent years. The fair participants were able to get familiar with their quality characteristics at an exposition laid in the Uzexpocenter. Of special interest were the transgenic breed sorts “Porlok” distinct with their high productivity and the advanced root system.
A separate pavilion of the Uzexpocenter presented a wide range of goods from enterprises of the country’s light industry, including cotton yarn, cloth, fabrics, readu sewing and knit as well as silk products. All this speaks of the intensive development of our country’s light industry, which is represented today by around three thousand enterprises, 300 of which are in the system of the Uzbekyengilsanoat State Joint Stock Company.
During the independent development years, two billion dollars of investments were drawn in order to advance the light industry of the country, more than 200 new projects have been implemented on the modernization of the existing and the construction of new enterprises with the participation of investors from Singapore, South Korea, India, Turkey, countries of the EU and CIS, Japan, United States and other nations. Products of some of them were exhibited at the 10th International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair. Among them was the exposition of the Plasteks Group of Companies established with the involvement of investments from abroad.
According to the manager for the foreign economic activity at the JV Plasteks Co. Ltd Abror Razikov, production of high quality worsted spinning yarn has been launched at one enterprise, while another has started to manufacture knitted cloth. The major part of the produced goods is exported by the company to China, Russia, Turkey, and European countries. Owing to the annual participation in the fair, the number of business partners has been growing. Thus, around 10 agreements were concluded this time around to supply goods abroad.
Participation in the fair has helped also many other Uzbek manufacturers to enhance the range of partners. Notably, B.S.H Group of Companies in Samarkand has found customers for its new merchandise – jeans wear, the production of which was launched this past September. The Tashkent-based foreign enterprise BF Textile that produces children’s, women’s and menswear from domestic cotton fabrics has concluded several export agreements.
Direct cooperation has been established thanks to the fair by the JV Shindong Spinning Termez, set up with the involvement of investments from South Korea. Outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment from the world’s leading manufacturers, it produces around 10 tons of high quality yarn a day.
“We export more than 95 percent of our goods,” says Gulmurat Tukhtashev, commercial director of JV Shindong Spinning Termez. “Owing to the participation in the fair we have signed new contracts for the sum total of over 700 thousand dollars with manufacturers from China.”
In general, the fair participants from abroad expressed great interest and willingness to cooperate with Uzbekistan. That was facilitated also by the presentation of the investment potential of Uzbekistan’s regions that took place within the fair, new projects designed to boost the textile industry as well as the visit to the cotton reprocessing factory “Uzbekiston”, to the cotton terminal Tashkent-Tola in Tashkent Region and the textile enterprise Uztex-Chirchik.
In a word, the 10th International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair demonstrated once again the high quality and competitiveness of the Uzbek cotton fiber and textile goods. This is suggestive of the fact that in modern economic conditions Uzbekistan has all the capacities to explore new markets and consolidate its leading positions in the global market.
(Source: UzA)
FINANCE
Crisis not an Impediment
The credit and financial system in Uzbekistan has been actively involved in the implementation of measures designed to further improve the investment climate and business environment in Uzbekistan. This year, the country’s commercial banks plan to increase the scope of the private sector loaning.
Financial support of small businesses and entrepreneurship is among the important areas of banking. Its scale has been constantly expanding. For example, starting from the year 2000, business lending has increased 67.3 times, while microcrediting grew 129 times. In the first six months of 2014, the volume of loans issued by banks for small business and private entrepreneurship entities enhanced by more than 31% to reach $ 4.8 trillion soums. (Currency rates of CB from 16.10.2014 1$= 2375.56 soums)
Opening current local currency accounts for small businesses without charging fees, and processing applications within three business days in commercial banks yields good outcomes.
Banks allocated 660 billion soums to support business women, and 879 billion soums to empower projects on service sector development. Besides, they allocated more than 124.4 billion soums of concessional loans under a program on the engagement of graduates of educational institutions in business, and funding business plans of graduates of vocational colleges.
In order to assist small businesses with using their credit resources through preparing project documents and financing their products the Association of Banks of Uzbekistan established the Foundation for Funding Document Processing on Investment Projects in 2012. Last year alone, the Foundation funded 50 projects on the development of project documentation, for which banks allocated 40 billion soums of loans.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
International cooperation
Uzbek FM meets Vice-President of German Bundestag
A delegation of Uzbekistan led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz Kamilov met with the Vice-President of Bundestag of Germany Ulla Schmidt on 15 October 2014.
The sides exchanged opinion on key issues of developing bilateral relations, perspectives of further deepening Uzbek-German inter-parliamentary cooperation, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan said.
The German side was informed on upcoming elections to Oliy Majlis and local representative bodies in Uzbekistan, which will be held on 21 December.
At the meeting, the sides considered other issues of interaction between Uzbekistan and Germany.
On the same time, the Uzbek delegation held a meeting at the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, which unites key business unions of Germany.
(Source: UzDaily.com)
HISTORY
Who Lived in the Temple?
Archeologists have discovered inscriptions that could clarify the content of wall painting found during the excavations at a temple of the ancient settlement of Kazakly-yatkan.
This archaeological monument in Beruniy District of Karakalpakstan has remained untouched for a long time. Silence of the centuries was broken in 2004 with the beginning of the Uzbek-Australian archaeological expedition. After a few days of the work of specialists of the Karakalpakstan Research Institute for Humanities and the University of Sydney the international community heard the news about the discovery of a unique wall painting. Specialists involved in the field work were joined by restorers to save a unique work of art.
Open fragments of paintings using a special technology was transferred to a restoration laboratory of the museum. There they were stuck on the special panel and turned into a museum piece. Two unique portraits, which were restored in the first place, now kept in the Museum of Archaeology of the Karakalpakstan Research Institute of Humanities. These masterpieces have been exhibited in Karakalpakstan’s Savitsky State Museum of Arts, and now are preparing for the show in Tashkent.
Restorers continue their work. A few days ago the specialists cleared from clay another mysterious figure – a picture of a man wearing a crown in the form of rays and arrows, on his head, apparently, a cloak of cloth, clothes covered with ornaments in the form of images of people-birds, with a patterned sword on a belt.
Recently, archaeologists also have brought good news. They cleared another 12 meter of the painting, which also depicts people with crowns on their heads. On one of the crowns are depicted, at first glance, three large flowers, it could identified after the final clearance, and three portraits of people with crowns of the European type. But the most interesting thing is that for the first time during the work on the monument there have been discovered a large number of inscriptions in Aramaic or ancient Khorazm languages.
“Basing on the paintings we can only guess about the appointment of this majestic building, and about who is depicted on the walls,” said the head of the expedition, a senior fellow at the Karakalpakstan Research Institute for Human Sciences, Vadim Yagodin. “We hope that after reading the inscriptions will find answers of many questions.”
The temple at the Kazakly-yatkan settlement dates back to the 3rd – 2nd centuries BC. The paintings found, according to scholars, either the pictures of deities, or pictures of the rulers of Khorazm. There is a suggestion that the settlement was one of the first capitals of the ancient Khorazmian state, and the temple is a palace in which rulers lived.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
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