Alisher Makhmudov, expert on agriculture and logistics of Central Asia took part in the conference Soybean and Meal market, where he presented fat & oil complex of Uzbekistan and pointed out that Uzbek processors are looking to cooperate with Ukrainian soybean producers.
He said there were 240 oilseed processing plans in Uzbekistan with the overall annual capacity of about 425 thsd tonnes of vegetable oil. The plants processed 3.3 mln tonnes of cottonseed and more than 1 mln tonnes of soybean and sunflower seed.
In 2020, Uzbekistan produced 280 thsd tonnes of vegetable oil and more than 650 thsd tonnes of meal.
“Statistics indicates extension of processing capacities in the coming years. At the same time, cottonseed processing will decline rapidly. Despite the sufficient processing capacities in the country, the feedstock supply is limited. To solve this problem, farmers have been extending planted areas under oilseed crop in recent years. Underloading of processing capacities is additionally intensified with the export duties on oilseed products imposed in Russia and temporary restrictions introduced in Kazakhstan, who are the key supplier to Uzbekistan. Recently, many processing plants were forced to shutdown due to the deficit of raw materials”, - A. Makhmudov said.
He also pointed out high demand on soybean in Uzbekistan. New soybean processing enterprises have been launched in the country that gives extra opportunity for suppliers.
In 2020, Uzbekistan imported 6 thsd tonnes of soybean at the sum of more than 2 mln USD, that was quite low figure.
“In 2021, we have already increased soybean import. Uzbekistan imported 6 thsd tonnes of soybean in I quarter of the year. Besides, the country buys soybean oil. It bought 2.7 thsd tonnes of the oil in 2020 and 1.6 thsd tonnes in January-March of 2021”, - the expert added.
A. Makhmudov noted the Uzbekistan was one of the fastest developing countries in Central Asia and its economy had been growing rapidly in the recent years. Economic changes and market reforms promote the development of agriculture and improve the investment climate. Besides, the country is located in the middle of the Silk Road that gives it extra advantages.
Alisher Makhmudov invited the suppliers of oilseeds and by-products to attend the international conference Asia Grains&Oils Conference in Tashkent (September 8-9, 2021) to set the directs contacts with Uzbek fat & oil companies.
