June 5, 2014
Uzbek Foreign Minister receives EU Special Envoy. 2
Uzbekistan starts production of mini-tractors. 2
Introduction of Modern Technologies to Boost Agricultural Development2
Uzbekistan’s chemical industry: Litmus Paper4
Press-service of MFA of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Intenational cooperation
Uzbek Foreign Minister receives EU Special Envoy
On June 4, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov received Janos Herman, who has been appointed as the European Union Special Envoy for Central Asia.
During the talks, the sides discussed the relations between Uzbekistan and the EU, the progress of joint programs and some international issues.
The sides also noted the mutual interest in the gradual development of cooperation in various areas.
Special attention was paid to the state and prospects of expanding cooperation in trade, economic and investment areas, including the establishment of joint high-tech industries based on the European best practices.
Mr Herman thanked the Uzbek side for the invitation to participate in the opening of the international conference in Tashkent entitled “On the most important reserves of implementing Food Program in Uzbekistan” and expressed the interest of the EU in cooperation with our country in ensuring food security.
The two sides also exchanged views on prospects for strengthening bilateral relations in the cultural field.
(Source: Press-service MFA)
Uzbekistan starts production of mini-tractors
Uzbekistan launched production of mini-tractors in line with the license of LS Mtron of South Korea, deputy director general of Agromash Sanoat Invest Rustam Saydaliev said.
Agromash Sanoat Invest, a subsidiary of Uzavtosanoat, started assembly of tractors under TTZ LS brand at the production capacities of Tashkent Tractor Plant, he said.
Saydaliev underlined that the enterprise is planning to assemble 1,000 tractors of six modifications by the end of 2014.
LS Mtron and Agromash Sanoat Invest signed the a contract on strategic partnership in December 2013. The contract envisages that some 24,570 mini-tractors will be produced in Uzbekistan in 2014-2018.
The cost of the contract is about US$500 million. The South Korean firm will also supply manufacturing technologies, which will allow the state-run agricultural machinery company to localize parts production for the tractors.
(Source: UzDaily.com)
exhibitions
Introduction of Modern Technologies to Boost Agricultural Development
The Ninth Uzbekistan Agrominitech Expo-2014 international specialized market exhibition of mini technologies and compact equipment for the agricultural industry complex, and the Third Uzbekistan Agrotechmash Expo-2014 international specialized exhibition of agricultural hardware, machinery and equipment have opened at the Uzexpocenter in Tashkent.
The expositions are organized by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Management, the Trade and Industry Chamber and the Council of Farmers.
Chairman of the Council of Farmers of Uzbekistan S.Turdiev, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade A.Kamalov and other speakers noted that the wide-ranging transformation and quality changes in the agricultural sector of our country’s economy, spearheaded under the leadership of President Islam Karimov, have been yielding due outcomes. Instrumental in furthering these goals has been the introduction of cutting-edge technologies. The 15 may 2014 presidential resolution “On Measures to Further Refine the Management and Financial Recovery of Enterprises in Agricultural Machine Building” has come to be an important normative foundation for further development in manufacturing state-of-the-art, highly productive agricultural machinery and equipment competitive both in the domestic and external markets.
The significance of technical and technological re-equipment of agriculture and further development of Uzbekistan’s agricultural industry sector explains the extensive scale and high level of the organization of international exhibitions Uzbekistan Agrominitech Expo-2014 and Uzbekistan Agrotechmash Expo-2014.
In the current market exhibition Uzbekistan Agrominitech Expo-2014, in excess of 150 companies are taking part from 26 countries around the world, including China, South Korea, United States, France, Germany, Spain, Iran, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Turkey and others.
An extensive range of goods and services is presented at the exposition in a number of areas, including compact lines for reprocessing agricultural products, packing mini technologies, equipment for livestock husbandry, poultry, beekeeping and gardening, mini machinery and hardware for stocking fodders, gardening and viticulture, the organization of greenhouse enterprises, chemical substances for plant protection.
It is noteworthy that at this exhibition-sale, as the tradition of the last years has gone, a special significance is attached to the demonstration of cutting-edge and economical technologies to reprocess fruits and vegetables as well as meat and dairy products, of mini machinery and hardware for gardening and viticulture, astrakhan sheep breeding and leather reprocessing.
Uzbekistan’s potential in the production of mini technologies and equipment for agriculture is brightly displayed by the stands of Uzbek companies. Presented here are the chambers for drying fruits, vegetables and greens, incubators and coops for poultry farming, packing and packaging equipment, stubble breakers and plows. Foreign guests say they are attracted to the achievements in the sphere of alternative energy, namely, solar photoelectric and wind-electric stations capable of uninterruptedly supplying with power those facilities that are located even in the remotest rural areas. Visitors and participants are keen to enquire into vehicles presented here – the freight motor tricycle of domestic production “ELDOSH EL 150-1” and trailers so in demand in faming enterprises.
Enterprises of the Uzprommashimpeks state stock company are taking part in an extended format. The company specializes in the export of industrial and agricultural goods produced in our country. Its annual trade turnover amounts to nearly 900 million US dollars, while the geography of operations covers more than 40 countries.
The stand of the private enterprise Livadia-Bukhara is appealing to visitors with its extensive range of dried fruits, equipment for their production. Staff of the enterprise have elaborated and patented a variety of drying chambers designed for reprocessing vegetables, fruits, medicinal herbs, as well as meat, fish, poultry and pasta. The goods of the enterprise have been appealing to customers in CIS nations, Europe, Asia and America.
“We have started to sell our equipment for payment by installments,” J.Ergasheva, commercial director of the private enterprise Livadia-Bukhara, says. “This opportunity has been useful not only for farming enterprises and agricultural firms, but also rural residents purchasing it for household needs. Also we purchase the goods produced by them.”
Among the Uzbek exponents are the AVS Agro Vatanparvar that has unveiled a wide range of items from stainless steel for catering business, the company Mirta-Polymet that demonstrates kitchen, trade and cooling equipment, and the company Upakmash that offers machinery for packing and packaging food products.
Also appealing are the stands of participants from South Korea. They display samples of equipment and hardware for the food industry, chilling installments, ice-cream stuffers and many other items.
Manufactures from Germany, France and China expose machinery for peeling and cutting vegetables and fruits, measuring devices for defining the quality of melon products, cooling equipment of various types, vacuum stuffers.
“We present our innovations in peeling and sorting out grain crops and legumes,” says Nicole He, overseas sales manager of the Chinese company Hefei Taihe Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd. “Taking into account that the agricultural production has been dynamically developing in Uzbekistan, we intend to expand our business contacts with Uzbek agricultural firms and farming enterprises.”
In the international exhibition Uzbekistan Agrotechmash Expo-2014, more than 20 leading world manufacturers of agricultural machinery and equipment from 10 countries are taking part along with our local enterprises like the Tashkent Tractor Plant open stock company, the Modular Plant open stock company, the Chirchikselmash open stock company, commercial banks and leasing companies. An extensive range of agricultural machinery is unveiled here.
The Tashkent Tractor Plant displays universal and cotton growing tractors of brands like “TTZ 80.10” and “TTZ 80.11”, cotton harvesting machines “MX-1,8”, tractor and dump body trailers. The Modular Plant open stock company exhibits a wide range of seeding machines, mowing machines, spreader devices of mineral fertilizers, cultivators, components and spare parts for agricultural machinery.
The range of domestically produced goods of the agricultural machine building has considerable been enriched thanks to the realization of the resolution of the head of our state “On the Program of Further Modernization, Technical and Technological Re-equipment of the Agricultural Production for 2012-2016” signed 21 May 2012. Within efforts to implement this resolution, the Chirchiq Mash Agro limited liability company was established. It currently producers a wide range of devices and equipment, including cultivators, plows, rollers and others.
The exhibition displays more than 50 units of machinery from world-renowned brands like Doosan, Daichi, Deadong (all from South Korea), Case, New Holland (both from the United States), CLAAS, Lemken, MAN (all from Germany) and others.
The traditional exhibitions Uzbekistan Agrominitech Expo and Uzbekistan Agrotechmash Expo are distinct with the enthusiastic participation of farmers and entrepreneurs of our country. The enormous range of presented products facilitates the equipment of domestic farming enterprises and production enterprises with the latest novelties of agricultural machines and technologies, while the consistently expanding geography of participants serves for the establishment of long-term cooperation with foreign firms and companies.
The international exhibitions will also include presentations of modern foreign-origin technologies, as well as seminars and meetings for farmers.
The sale exhibition Uzbekistan Agrominitech Expo-2014 and the exhibition Uzbekistan Agrotechmash Expo-2014 will facilitate the further development of production and the processing industry as well as the enhancement of export volumes.
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan U.Rozukulov delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the expositions.
(Source: UzA)
INVESTMENTS
Uzbekistan’s chemical industry: Litmus Paper
Uzbekistan’s chemical industry is one of the central ones to the country’s economy. Its product ranges include a wide variety of finished consumer goods. However, most of them are industrial ones used in metallurgy, machine building, agriculture and even IT industry. The Uzbek chemical industry is Central Asia’s leader in terms of production and development pace; it has a great industrial research potential and is regularly engaged in modernization and establishment of new production lines.
Chemical industry can undoubtedly be called litmus paper indicating the state of the other sectors of an economy, since most chemical products are used by other industries to manufacture finished goods: food packaging, auto tires, cell phone cases, etc. Therefore, an economic growth in the chemical industry is a sign of a general economic growth, while a decline in it indicates a general economic recession.
Uzbekistan’s chemical industry originated from Shursu sulfur mine, which was opened in 1932. In the 1960s, the three future leaders of the industry – Farghona Nitrogen Fertilizers Plant (currently named Farghonaazot), Navoi Chemical Plant (currently named Navoiazot) and Olmaliq Chemical Plant (currently named Ammofos-Maxam) – were built in the republic. However, the chemical industry was not diversified enough at the time; its products were used only in agriculture.
By the early 1990s, this orientation of the industry was no longer economically viable. Besides, its main facilities had deteriorated. It was necessary to immediately launch new consumer products for the population and new industrial goods for many other industries that were growing – through the attraction of investments, modernization, improvement of the infrastructure, diversification, and localization of production. Within the next several years, the industry began to supply its first new competitive products made through the use of the most advanced technologies. The republic’s abundant natural resources played a big part in this renewal of the sector. Uzbekistan boasts large deposits of natural gas, condensate, oil, sulfur, phosphorus and sodium carbonate used by chemical manufacturers. This mineral wealth allows for long-term strategic planning in the industry and increasing its exports. Currently, the republic is Central Asia’s top producer of chemical compounds and mineral fertilizers – ammonia, carbamide, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, ammophos and nitrophos.
The new development phase of the industry started in 2007. It was when the state chemical industry modernization and re-equipment program for 2007 – 2011 was adopted. The program comprised 30 projects totaling $167 million. The industry was to increase its exports by 1.7 times, achieve a 146% rise in production, and introduce ISO 9001 quality management standards. Among the most significant projects implemented stood out upgrading of the production of ammonia at MAXAM-Chirchiq, which allowed for a substantial increase in the output of it and a reduction in the cost and energy consumption. Besides, the company launched the production of porous ammonium nitrate.
The company Samarqandkimyo launched the production of a new nitrocalciumphosphate fertilizer, using a locally developed technology of processing local raw materials. The company Faghonaazot and Navoiazot began to produce ammonia and granulated ammonium nitrate with phosphate minerals added, respectively.
During the re-equipment and modernization of these large chemical manufacturers, they focused their efforts on “green technologies” to cut the harmful emissions and pollutants. Today, all the companies of the industry use sophisticated eco-protection systems, minimizing the environmental impacts of the production. Their special laboratories regularly monitor the air, wastewater, etc.
In 2009 and 2010, the government adopted another two important programs to improve the efficiency of the industry. Under the construction acceleration and new chemical products program, they launched the production of urea ammonium nitrate solution, low-density ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, trisodium phosphate, feed phosphate, catalysts for the production of ammonia, and other products. The industrial development program for 2011-2015 provided for further development of the industry. In 2012, for instance, they opened a joint venture with the Korean company NeoPLANT to produce industrial silicon, which is unique to the local chemical industry. Industrial silicon is used to make polycrystalline silicon for crystalline and thin-film solar cells, solar panels, LCD displays, chips, etc. Today, the new silicon manufacturer satisfies the needs of the local hi-tech factories and ships its products abroad.
As a result of the implementation of these two development programs, their plans for today have been fulfilled and even overfulfilled in some areas. Experts note that the industry has showed a substantial increase in production and use of local raw materials, as well as launches of new export-oriented and import-substituting products, and a reduction in the costs through introduction of efficient modern technologies. Only in the first quarter of the current year, the output value of the country’s chemical manufacturers totaled 439.3 billion soums; they made over 254,300 tons of mineral fertilizers, of which 196,300 tons were nitrogen ones, 36,400 thousand tons were phosphorus ones, and 21,600 thousand tons were potassic ones. (Currency rates of CB from 03.06.2014 1$=2300.57 soums)
Today, Uzbekistan’s chemical industry is a large group of companies united by the state joint stock company Uzkimyosanoat. This JSC develops and implements development programs related to production, innovation and marketing activities of the country’s chemical businesses, thereby creating the conditions and prerequisites for sustainable growth of the whole industry. The JSC comprises 14 manufacturers, 13 regional distributors selling the mineral fertilizers to the farms, as well as a scientific research institute, a design institute, foreign trade freight forwarding companies (Kimyotrans and Kimyotrans Logistics), and a brokerage company (Hamkor-Kimyoservis). The JSC is going to carry out a lot of plans in the future. Among the most interesting of them is production of turnkey tires and conveyor belts in the free industrial zone Angren. After it has been launched in 2016, they will manufacture 100,000 square meters of conveyor belts and 200,000 tires for farm vehicles a year. The total cost of the project is $230 million. It will be jointly funded by Uzkimyosanoat, the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan and foreign banks. In the current year, the investment program of Uzkimyosanoat provides for implementation of 12 projects to be worth over $2.4 billion. The largest of them is the construction of ammonia and urea production lines on the premises of Navoiazot. Its cost is over $960 million. After the production has been launched, Navoiazot will produce 660,000 tons of ammonia and 577,500 tons of urea a year.
Also noteworthy is the Qunghirot Soda Plant – the only Central Asian manufacturer of sodium carbonate. This product is used in the production of glass articles, detergents and cleaning agents; it is used by non-ferrous metallurgy plants, various light industry factories and paper mills. The great demand for the sodium carbonate in Uzbekistan and outside it was the reason for conceiving a project of expanding the production of the plant through an increase in mining for limestone and industrial salt at the quarry Jamansoy and the field Barsakelmes. The total cost of the project exceeds $109 million.
(Source: “Uzbekistan Today” newspaper)