Sat 02 2021 06:34:10

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - One of the conditions for the country’s economic prosperity is the state of the business environment, especially in a crisis caused by external and internal shocks. The stability of the country’s economy depends on many factors, on economic policy measures, as well as on the state of business activity and associated consumer sentiments both in the region and in the country as a whole.

In this regard, especially in the crisis conditions caused by the spread of the coronavirus pandemic both in Uzbekistan and around the world, experts from the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR) carry out monthly monitoring of the state of business activity at the regional and district levels.

Analysis of business activity in the context of the regions of the Republic of Uzbekistan is monthly calculated by CERR based on operational data (monitoring in all regions of the republic, according to the data of the State Customs Committee, State Tax Committee, Central Bank and Uz RTSB).

The monitoring results showed that the volume of tax revenues in the period from January 1 to January 31 of 2020 increased by 27.3% over the same period last year.

At the same time, a significant increase in tax revenues was observed in Jizzakh (by 19.2%), Khorezm (by 15.8%), Syrdarya (by 9.4%) regions and in the Republic of Karakalpakstan (by 10.1%).

The increase in tax revenues is indicative of a consistent recovery in economic activity in the country after the crisis situations arising from the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Receipts from customs payments for the analyzed period increased by 35.3% compared to the same period last year.

The largest increase in customs revenues among the regions of Uzbekistan was observed in Jizzakh (2.4 times), Ferghana (2.4 times) and Samarkand (1.1 times) regions.

The increase in customs revenues also indicates the restoration of Uzbekistan’s foreign trade relations with major trading partners and the growth of foreign trade activity.

According to the State Customs Committee, the volume of exports of goods since the beginning of the year has grown by 7.1% compared to the same period last year.

An active growth in the volume of exports of goods among regions was provided in Navoi (4.0 times), Andijan (2.1 times), Jizzakh (95.5%), Syrdarya (80.8%) and Khorezm (70.9%) ) areas.

The growth in exports of goods justifies the gradual stabilization of the world economy after the acute phase of the coronavirus pandemic and the growth of external demand for Uzbek-made goods.

The volume of loans issued by commercial banks during the analyzed period increased by 4.3%, at the same time the volume of repaid loans for the same period increased by 2.2% in relation to the same period last year.

At the same time, the greatest increase in the volume of loans issued was noted in Surkhandarya (3.1 times), Namangan (2.8 times), Navoi (2.5 times), Kashkadarya (2.1 times) regions and in the Republic Karakalpakstan (2.9 times).

The growth in the volume of issued and repaid loans explains the increased activity of business structures in the country and its regions.

Since the beginning of the year, 8,440 new business entities have been created in the republic, the largest number of which are registered in Kashkadarya (1,204), Tashkent (757), Samarkand (672), Ferghana (664) regions and in Tashkent city (1,572).

At the same time, the volume of transactions at the Uzbek Republican Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange for the analyzed period increased by 40.5% compared to the same period last year.

During this period, an increase in exchange activity was noted in all regions of the country. There is also a significant increase in Bukhara (growth by 94.1%), Syrdarya (by 89.6%) regions and in Tashkent city (by 75.3%). This indicates a gradual increase in domestic demand, in particular, an increase in the activity of legal entities as a result of a gradual increase in household income, which stimulates economic processes and the activity of business structures.

The achievement of such results was facilitated by the drastic measures taken by the government to support the economy, which helped to ensure positive values in the activities of business structures and their expectations regarding development prospects.

This position is also confirmed in the study "Business climate index of Uzbekistan" published monthly by CERR.