On November 28, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting to discuss further support for production and increasing export potential in the pharmaceutical and electrical industries.
Our country has the necessary raw materials and favourable conditions for the development of these sectors. In particular, over the past six years, pharmaceutical production has tripled and exports have increased sixfold. A total of 177 projects worth $525 million have been launched, creating a total of 50,000 jobs.
However, this does not match the existing potential. For instance, the annual consumption of pharmaceuticals in the country is $1.6 billion. Only 18% of the market is covered by domestic producers, while the rest is imported.
In this context, special emphasis was placed on the development of local production.
In recent years, the industry has received a lot of support and funding, and pharmaceutical zones have been created. But they are not being fully exploited. It is necessary to expand localisation, support entrepreneurs’ projects and ensure the purchase of their products. This is based on jobs and people’s satisfaction,” says Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
In this regard, the importance of studying foreign experience and attracting well-known brands to our country was underlined. In particular, instructions were given to increase localization to 35% by organizing the production of the 50 most consumed medicines in the country.
The need to speed up the construction of the “Tashkent Pharma Park” cluster and attract private partners to it was highlighted. Assistance will also be provided to pharmaceutical companies in their transition to international GMP standards and in the establishment of a labelling system.
A total of 173 projects worth $1.5 billion have been formed in the industry, and $600 million will be allocated for their financing.
The officials reported that as a result of the implementation of the projects, production worth $400 million and exports worth $160 million are expected by 2024.
Issues related to the electrical industry were also discussed during the meeting.
Over the past six years, 224 projects worth $640 million have been launched in this sector. Exports are expected to reach $1 billion by the end of this year.
However, our country imports $800 million worth of electrical products every year. In total, the regional market is worth $3 billion.
It is necessary to establish cooperation with renowned brands and produce competitive products in order to secure a respectable position in this market. Special attention will be paid to this in the 141 projects worth $2 billion planned for next year.
This year, 2 gigawatts of solar and wind power will be commissioned, and another 4 gigawatts in 2024. This will require a significant amount of cables, generators, inverters and transformers. The challenge is to localize the production of these items and obtain international quality certificates.
It has been decided that $100 million will be allocated for state support in the implementation of advanced technologies, innovations and international standards in the sector.
Officials reported plans to increase production by 20 per cent next year and to raise the volume of copper processing to 140,000 tonnes. It was also noted that there is an opportunity to increase exports to $1.5 billion and reach $2 billion by 2025.
During the meeting, proposals from regional leaders and entrepreneurs on the development of the discussed industries were heard.