To increase mutual trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the UzKazTrade LLC foreign trade company has been established. The founders of the export-import enterprise were JSC "Center for the Development of Trade Policy "QazTrade" and JSC "UzTrade", El.kz cites the press service of the ministry of trade and integration.
As a follow-up to the agreements of the heads of state of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, our countries are actively implementing projects to expand logistics routes, as well as services for export-import operations. Building up mutual trade is one of the primary tasks in which both sides are interested.
The activities of the foreign trade company will be aimed at conducting market research and competitive analysis on the products of large enterprises of the two countries, developing proposals for placing orders for the production of finished products, optimizing and coordinating mutual trade processes, assisting businesses in certification and promotion of products for export, as well as in the supply of technological equipment, spare parts, components according to their orders, raw materials and materials produced in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to replace imports from third countries, search for new buyers and consumers of products.
As Nuraly Bukeikhanov, General Director of QazTrade JSC, noted, the creation of a joint company will allow Kazakh enterprises to increase the volume of supplies of goods to the markets of the two countries, will contribute to the development of proposals for the removal of restrictions and barriers in mutual trade.
"At the initial stage, it is planned to purchase fruit and vegetable products from Uzbekistan to meet the needs of our domestic market. In addition, we will help to sell Kazakh flour milling products on the territory of Uzbekistan with the possibility of further export to Afghanistan. We have agreed with the Uzbek side to provide preferences for logistics costs," the head of the Trade Policy Development Center said.
In addition, the implementation of the project will contribute to improving the effectiveness of government measures to reduce the dependence of the Kazakh market on imports from third countries.
By the end of 2022, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan reached 5.0 billion dollars, which is 29.8% higher than the previous year (3.8 billion dollars). The volume of exports of Kazakhstani goods increased by 33% and amounted to $ 3.7 billion. The export growth was mainly due to an increase in the supply of ore and copper concentrates (an increase of 4.8 times), wheat (by 32.3%), passenger cars (by 83.7%), sunflower oil (by 97.2), fresh and chilled beef (an increase of 4.1 times), unprocessed aluminum (by 70.4%).
Imports to Kazakhstan from Uzbekistan in 2022 increased by 21.4% and amounted to $ 1.3 billion. Kazakhstan mainly buys car bodies, spark-ignition internal combustion engines, grapes, flat rolled products made of unalloyed clad steel, lead ores and concentrates, building bricks, floor blocks and similar ceramic products, parts and accessories for cars and tractors, ethylene polymers.