Uzbekistan to lift excise, customs duties on flour, other food imports
TASHKENT. Aug 22 (Interfax) - Uzbekistan will lift excise duties on imported meat and meat products, pork and poultry fat, wheat flour and animal feed, the Uzbek Foreign Trade Ministry told Interfax.
The ministry said that the corresponding order was signed yesterday by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The order "On measures for the further streamlining of foreign economic activity" also provides for waiving customs duties on butter, soya and sunflower oil, potato and grain seeds, linen, sunflower seeds, rye flour, groats and meal of durum wheat, cane sugar, cocoa beans and raw materials for pharmaceuticals.
In addition, the rate of existing customs payments will be lowered for certain types of goods, including for cattle meat, pork, pork fat, poultry fat and other poultry meat by-products, coffee, wheat flour and cane sugar.
According to the order, import duties on imports of wheat flour, pork and pork fat will be reduced from 30% to 10% from the customs value; excise duties for coffee imports will be cut from 20% to 10% and cane sugar from 10% to 5%. In addition the combined rate on imports of sunflower oil will be lowered from 20% but no less that $0.32 per liter, to 5% and no less than $0.1 per liter. Import duties on coffee and cane sugar exports will also be cut: from 10% but no less than $0.7 per kg to 5% but no less than $0.3 per kg and from 30% to 10% respectively.
It is expected that the reduction in customs payments for raw materials used in the production of foodstuffs will support a reduction in the cost of producing goods and increase its competitiveness. In addition, this should limit price growth on the domestic retail market.