Uzbek media reports say Uzbekistan plans to cancel individual customs, tax and other benefits, as well as other preferences granted to certain economic entities to import food products into the country.

The General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan has reportedly prepared a draft presidential decree on measures to further ensure the country’s food security.

On February 1, 2018, the president plans to prohibit the Cabinet of Ministers from making decisions, which provide individual economic entities with individual customs, tax and other benefits, as well as other preferences for import of food products into the country, according to UzDaily. 

It is expected that the president will order to develop a set of measures to find and attract suppliers of food products, create equal conditions for them to enter the market, assist them in concluding contracts, transporting and storing imported products.  

Specialized storage facilities, storage facilities and cold rooms, as well as facilities for processing and packaging of food products will be created on the terms of public-private partnership in all regions of Uzbekistan. 

The Uzbek authorities also intend to cancel the ban on the sale (purchase) of consumer goods through the country’s commodity and raw materials exchanges. There will be no need for a license to carry out wholesale trade to purchase and sell food products through open electronic trading networks of commodity exchanges.