It is well known that the light industry, as one of the biggest contributors to GDP generation, plays a significant role in each country\'s economy. To begin with, the light industry of Uzbekistan, with its broadest composition of exportable goods, enjoys a high rating among other export-oriented sectors of the national economy.



The nation\'s leaders have been prioritizing the light industry from the first days of independence. And the attraction of foreign investment to the sector, among other things, has proved crucial to boost investment.

Today, the light industry of Uzbekistan is represented by the State Joint-Stock Company Uzbekengilsanoat, which incorporates 285 enterprises operating in cotton, silk, stockinet, clothes and other sub-sectors. 160 of them are joint ventures set up with the participation of foreign investors. The total amount of investments injected into the national light industry since the declaration of independence exceeds US $1.9 billion. 68,000 workers are employed at its enterprises to date. Between 2009 and 2012 the State Joint-Stock Company Uzbekengilsanoat created, jointly with overseas investors, as many as 101 enterprises, with the total sum of attracted foreign capital standing at US $506.2 million. In the current year, the company is planning to put into operation 30 new production facilities, worth more than US $200 million. The Republic is home to a number of big successfully performing foreign companies, such as Indorama, DAEWOO International, Ritter, Osborn Trading, BF Group and many others. In keeping with the National Program for the Development of Regions in the period 2012-2016, it is planned to realize 1,629 projects, to the tune of US $1286.3 million, with 63,194 new jobs being created as a result (according to data from Uzbekengilsanoat). In the past two years, a series of important projects have been implemented in the light industry with the help of foreign capital. In particular, 2011 has seen the establishment of a joint venture with the participation of Indorama (Singapore). Called Indorama Kokand Textile and estimated at US $44 million, the joint venture enterprise is capable of manufacturing 7,000 tons of compact yarn.

One of the last year\'s most marked projects has been the creation in Tashkent, together with the Swiss machine-building company Machinenfabrik Ritter AG, of an enterprise specializing in the production of textile equipment. A given project was brought about under an agreement concluded between the State Joint-Stock Company Uzbekengilsanoat and Machinenfabrik Ritter AG, which envisages a strategic partnership in the provision of the industry\'s domestic enterprises with high-tech equipment at competitive prices in national currency by an optimum date. Overall, the project\'s first stage was estimated at US $3.8 million.

Production of band and carding machinery was organized within the framework of the project\'s first stage. Its second stage deals with the production of ring-spinning equipment. Putting into service a metal-working and a powder-painting shops is planned at the third stage of the project.

The following foreign companies Wirex, Riter, Swisscapital, Olplast and the Alpha Group took part in the creation of a joint venture, called UzteksGroup. The enterprise is capable of manufacturing 12,000 tons of cotton fiber, 5,400 tons of fabrics and 14 million units of finished clothes a year. The amount of investment capital totaled US $98.8 million.

Another important investment project was the organization of a spinning facility on the basis of OOO Shovot Textile located in Khorezm province of Uzbekistan. With annual production capacity of 5,000 tons of cotton fiber, the project\'s total value reached US $25 million.

Last year, the company\'s enterprises turned out 1,735 trillion Soum (Currency rates of CB from 18.07.2013 1$=2101.48 soums), worth of produce, up 20 per cent on the 2011 level. Production of consumer goods over a given period soared by 45.2 per cent, estimated at 607.2 billion Soum. In 2012, enterprises incorporated into the State Joint-Stock Company Uzbekengilsanoat manufactured upwards of 100 new product categories. The overall range of light-industry commodity groups exceeded 160. They exported their produce to some 50 countries, to the tune of US $705.3 million.

In the first quarter of the current year, Uzbekengilsanoat\'s enterprises produced and exported 2013.9 billion Soum and US $209.3 million worth of output, respectively, or 13.2 percent and 22.1 per cent higher than in the comparable period a year earlier (according to data provided by the State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan).

The main markets for Uzbek textile exports these days include the CIS member states, and notably the Russian Federation, Turkey, the European Union and Korea. The Arab countries are also interested in expanding exports from Uzbekistan. Both the geography and product composition of Uzbek exports tend to diversify year in, year out. Uzbek enterprises are tirelessly identifying new potential foreign markets for their exportable output.

By and large, the light industry of Uzbekistan is now a reliable partner and an increasingly key sector of the world economy, for a wide selection of high-quality produce, which meets the most stringent modern standards. (Source: Business Partner.uz newspaper)