Uzbekistan sets the expansion of competition and the reduction of direct state participation in the economic sphere as key objectives of its economic reforms.
According to Khalilullo Turakhkhojav, Chairman of the Committee for Competition Development and Consumer Rights Protection, published in the newspaper Yeni Uzbekistan, in recent years the country has taken steps to improve private business access to markets, reduce exclusive rights, and strengthen control over anti-competitive practices.
The article notes that after the start of reforms in 2017, competition policy became a permanent element of the state's economic strategy. In 2023, Uzbekistan adopted a new Competition Law, which introduced modern mechanisms to prevent abuses of dominant positions and cartels, regulate state aid and economic concentration, and protect competition in the activities of state enterprises and digital platforms.
Over the past years, more than 4000 regulatory legal acts have been reviewed, with provisions restricting competition identified in 52% of them. Furthermore, 6700 decisions by state bodies and local khokimiyats contradicting competition principles have been revoked or brought into compliance with the law. As a result, about 3500 anti-competitive practices have been eliminated, and improperly obtained funds amounting to approximately 912 billion soms have been returned.
In the area of economic concentration, 1181 transactions totaling 13.2 billion US dollars were approved between 2019 and 2026. Thirty-one transactions were rejected due to the risk of negative impact on competition. The antitrust legislation compliance system also operates in more than 400 large enterprises and state bodies.
A separate area of reform relates to reducing the state's presence in the economy. Uzbekistan introduced the 'Yellow Pages' principle, which limits the creation of new state enterprises in markets where at least five private companies are already operating.
As stated in the article, the share of state enterprises in GDP has decreased from 55% to almost 30%, and their number has reduced from 3200 to 1700. Simultaneously, 160 licensing and permit issuance procedures have been canceled or simplified. The number of active business entities has increased from 257,700 in 2016 to 474,900 in 2026. GDP grew from 199.3 trillion soms in 2016 to 1,849.7 trillion soms in 2025.
The article also highlights the review of exclusive rights and individual benefits that hindered companies' access to certain markets. Exclusive rights were abolished in 24 types of activities, and individual benefits were reduced or revised in 39 areas. After the abolition of a number of exclusive rights since 2025, more than 100 enterprises have gained access to relevant service markets.
Changes also affected natural monopolies. The status of 56 enterprises whose main activities were not conducted under natural monopoly conditions was reviewed. Six types of services were excluded from the list of natural monopolies. Consequently, the number of natural monopoly subjects decreased from 140 in 2018 to 78 in 2026.
The aviation sector is presented in the article as an example of strengthened competition. If there was one domestic airline in Uzbekistan in 2017, the number reached 15 by 2025. Passenger traffic increased nearly fivefold to 15 million people, including 12 million international passengers.
Reforms also impacted price regulation. Administrative mechanisms for regulating prices for 28 types of goods and services, including flour, bread, cottonseed oil, grain, fuel, and mineral fertilizers, were reviewed. At the same time, supervision against collusion, artificial shortages, abuse of dominant position, and market manipulation was strengthened. According to data provided in the article, prices for liquefied gas in some markets fell by 38%, wheat prices by 14%, and urea prices for farmers by 25%. Unjustified price increases totaling 78 billion soms were prevented across 145 enterprises. Orders for the return of 105 billion soms were issued in 344 cases of market manipulation.
In 2025, about 41,000 consumer complaints were reviewed, leading to measures to refund 383.4 billion soms. Systematic checks in the gas, utility, fuel, and pharmaceutical sectors helped restore the rights of 17 million consumers.
The unified information system Fair Tech, along with the Fair Price, Product Info, and Pharm Info modules, is used to monitor the digital market. They are integrated with the information resources of 32 state bodies. The time required to obtain certain data has been reduced from 10–20 days to 15 minutes, and the analysis process has accelerated fivefold.
Based on this, 204 subjects and 165 products holding dominant positions in the financial market were identified. Significant bargaining power was found in 93 enterprises, and dominant positions were established for six types of services provided by nine digital platforms.
The article also presents the results of regional competitiveness and investment opportunity analysis. In the Syrdarya region, opportunities were identified in 40 types of highly complex economic products. The potential market for these goods is estimated at over 2.6 billion US dollars in neighboring countries, 8 billion US dollars in Russia, and 4 billion US dollars in Turkey.
The competitive environment improved in approximately 30 sectors, according to the article, including cotton and grain markets, civil aviation, electronic payments, cement and building materials, cable and metallurgical products. Meanwhile, the range of goods expanded from approximately 4100 types in 2019 to 5600 in 2025.
The article outlines further goals, including increasing the non-state sector's share to 85% by 2030, gradually abolishing 16 state monopolies, and expanding the private sector's participation in railway transport, construction, road management, and the supply of gas and electricity. By 2030, Uzbekistan also plans to limit monopolies and dominant positions in 15 markets, gradually abolish more than 10 exclusive rights, lift restrictions on parallel imports, and introduce modern international trademark usage principles.
Moreover, as stated in the article, the state will retain a necessary role in strategic energy and transport infrastructure, as well as in objects related to national security. The main task is to establish reasonable limits to state participation while simultaneously improving the quality of market rules and supervisory efficiency.
According to the author, the development of competition and the reduction of direct state intervention will create conditions for expanding the private sector's opportunities, stimulating innovation, and increasing economic efficiency.
