Cotton harvest in Uzbekistan reached 5 million tons, the best figure in 35 years

The financing mechanism for young businesses has been updated. Funds are planned to be allocated up to 1 billion UZS for book cafes and up to 5 billion UZS for startup centers.

According to the Cabinet of Ministers' decision No. 598 dated October 30, the rules for issuing loans to support young entrepreneurs, finance startup projects, and develop businesses have been adjusted in Uzbekistan.

These changes are approved in the new edition by the State Target Capital Fund for Entrepreneurship Development under the Youth Affairs Agency, utilizing the funds of this fund.

It is expected that loans for young entrepreneurs will be provided for a term of up to 7 years at an interest rate 4 percentage points higher than the Central Bank's main rate. A preferential period is also provided: up to 2 years on the principal debt and up to 3 months on interest payments.

Business entities that sell more than 10 thousand books per month will be allocated up to 1 billion UZS to expand the activities of a bookstore or 'Book cafe'. These funds are provided for a term of up to 3 years with a 6-month grace period on the interest rate, which equals half of the Central Bank's main rate.

Furthermore, up to 500 million UZS is planned to be allocated for starting trade and providing services in mobile stalls in each district or city. These funds will also be available for up to 3 years with a 6-month grace period.

For creating educational and professional workshops-laboratories in technical colleges and non-state educational institutions, a zero-interest loan equivalent to 1200 basic calculation units is provided. The repayment period for such a loan is up to 3 years, and the grace period is 6 months.

A zero-interest loan of up to 5 billion UZS has been established for organizing startup studios, incubators, and accelerator centers. These funds will be issued for a term of up to 5 years with a one-year grace period.

In addition, coverage of up to 50% of expenses for participation in international acceleration programs is possible, but not more than 20 thousand dollars. Financial assistance of up to 50% of the costs for developing and testing the initial prototype of promising startups is also being considered, with a maximum amount of 50 thousand dollars.

Within the framework of the decision, zero-interest lending equivalent to 320 basic calculation units is also provided for organizing foreign language learning services in remote and peripheral areas. A list of 370 such areas is presented in the document appendix. Funds will be directed to projects that meet the established requirements and are selected according to the regulations.

In September 2026, Uzbekistan's gross domestic product (GDP) showed growth of 8.3%. Concurrently, imports increased by 15.7% and exports decreased by 5.5%.

According to the National Statistical Committee report, Uzbekistan's GDP for January-September 2026 reached 1,755.5 trillion soums. Real economic growth compared to the same period last year was 8.3%.

In foreign trade, an increase in imports and a decrease in exports were noted. The total volume of the country's foreign trade reached 65.4 billion US dollars, of which exports accounted for 25.8 billion dollars, and imports accounted for 39.6 billion dollars. This resulted in a negative balance in foreign trade amounting to 13.7 billion dollars.

Despite the overall decline in export volume, commodity exports grew when gold was excluded. Specifically, from January to August, this indicator increased by 28.7%.

The report indicates that the service sectors contributed the most to GDP growth. In January-September, 1,085.7 trillion soums of industrial products were produced, which is 8.1% more than in the corresponding period last year. In industry, the production of machinery and equipment grew by 48.9%, and the production of transport equipment increased by 33.9%.

Regarding prices, in the ninth month of 2026, consumer prices rose by 4.2% compared to December of the previous year. The average increase in food prices was 2.9%, non-food goods was 4.6%, and services was 5.6%. Changes in food prices, as well as housing, water, electricity, gas, and other types of fuel, which together accounted for 54% of inflation growth, had the greatest impact on overall inflation.

The volume of retail trade reached 432.2 trillion soums, showing a growth of 19.7%. The volume of market services amounted to 1,003.2 trillion soums, increasing by 16.7%. Among services, financial services grew by 22%, communication and informatization services by 21.4%, and trade services by 17.4%.

Furthermore, as of October 1, there were 621.1 thousand enterprises and organizations operating in Uzbekistan. During the first nine months of the year, 68.5 thousand new enterprises and organizations were created.

As of October 22, 4.63 million tons of cotton raw material were harvested in Uzbekistan. This corresponds to 103% of the established plan of 4.5 million tons for the current year, according to the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The main part of the harvest, more than 3.515 million tons, was collected using about 3 thousand modern machines. The share of mechanized harvesting nationwide reached 76%. It was particularly noted that 98.5% of the harvest was collected mechanically in Jizzakh region, 94.2% in Syrdarya region, and 81.2% in Tashkent region.

For comparison, in 2025, almost 4 million tons of cotton were harvested from an area of about 875 thousand hectares. Thus, the current season's harvest exceeds last year's figure by approximately 630 thousand tons.

According to data from the National Statistical Committee, in 2018, 2.286 million tons of cotton raw material were produced in Uzbekistan. As of October 22, the harvested crop exceeds this figure twofold, and compared to 2024, it is nearly 58% higher. At the same time, the area of cotton fields has decreased from 1.1 million hectares to 889.5 thousand hectares.

Currently, the cotton harvest is not yet complete. More than 49 thousand hectares across the country are still undergoing the first harvest.