Uzbekistan embarks on large-scale poultry industry support programme

Uzbek authorities expect that the poultry industry will be able to employ over 1 million citizens. Photo: Bert Jansen

The president of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has signed a new poultry industry development plan and approved generous tax breaks for poultry and livestock farmers.

From 1 April, Uzbekistan farmers producing poultry, milk and eggs will become eligible for a 50% discount on VAT payments. The key condition is that poultry or livestock production should be the core business for the company seeking state aid and generate at least 90% of its profit. The measure is approved for 3 years through 1 April 2028. Poultry farms are still subject to a 50% discount on profit and property tax payments.

Soft loans for farmers

Mirziyoyev also approved an additional US$50 million funding for the Microcreditbank, a state bank issuing soft loans to farmers. The money is due to be distributed in the poultry industry with the key goal of strengthening cooperation in the industry, including with backyard farms.

In addition, authorities reported that the funds would be spent to improve the financial health of farms facing problems. The farms that become insolvent and are now owned by banks must be acquired by large poultry producers, Mirziyoyev stated.

Import duties on poultry farm vehicles

The president has also lowered import duties for all vehicles imported into the country for use by poultry farms, with the measure slated to remain in force through 2028. This decision was made to reduce the cost of equipment for poultry farms and improve their efficiency. Specifically, for the truck with a weight load between 5 and 20 tonnes, the import tax will be lowered dramatically from 70% to 5%.

The Uzbekistan authorities also revealed plans to loosen control on the market of veterinary pharmaceuticals to improve their availability to poultry farms.

Improving performance

Thanks to the new measures, Uzbek authorities expect that the poultry industry will be able to employ over 1 million citizens.

In 2023, Uzbekistan produced 544,000 tonnes of poultry meat, according to the government. Currently, poultry in Uzbekistan is largely bred at thousands of backyard farms in rural parts of the country, often primarily for personal consumption. In 2025, Uzbekistan is expected to manufacture 1 million tonnes of poultry and 10.5 billion eggs, authorities forecast. This year, Uzbekistan poultry is due to generate US$180 million of export revenue, including US$95 million from exporting poultry meat.

Uzbekistan has been consistently supporting the poultry industry in improving the country’s food security. In July 2024, the Uzbek government stated its anticipation of a US$420 million investment in poultry farms by the end of the decade, along with plans to facilitate the establishment of a poultry cluster in the country for US$100 million.