Uzbekistan to ease raw material imports for sunflower oil and other products

In Uzbekistan, authorities plan to abolish import duties on raw materials used in sunflower oil production in order to support domestic processing and reduce reliance on imported finished products. The announcement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khojayev during an open dialogue with entrepreneurs.

According to him, a “tariff inversion” has emerged in the vegetable oil sector, where importing refined sunflower oil is cheaper than purchasing raw materials for domestic production due to high import duties. This undermines the profitability of local producers and hampers industry development.

The removal of duties is expected to lower input costs, improve competitiveness of processors, and enable them to operate at full capacity. The government views this measure as a pilot tool to support domestic manufacturing.

In addition to sunflower oil, the proposal includes lifting import duties on raw materials for producing other goods, including electric scooters, wheelchairs, marmalade, caramel candies, chocolate, baby food, instant bakery products, gingerbread, cookies, waffles, pies, cakes, jams and preserves, canned strawberries, and sugary beverages.

The changes are expected to stimulate domestic production across multiple sectors, reduce business costs, and strengthen the position of local manufacturers in the domestic market.

Tags: sunflower oil, Uzbekistan, duties