CBU Survey: 82% of enterprises and organizations note on improvement of economic situation

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Economic situation of Uzbekistan improved in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the same period of 2018, the results of the survey of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan showed.

In particular, 82% of enterprises and organizations, participating in the survey, noted improvement of the economic situation in the second quarter, including 56% of respondents reported an increase in the real output of goods (works, services), and 43% of exporting enterprises underlined an increase in exports goods (works, services).

About 95% of enterprises and organizations in construction materials industry, 92% of chemical industry, 90% of the oil and gas industry, 84% of food industry, 78% of the light industry, 33% of pharmaceutical industry, 86% of tourism, 81% of health services, 74 % of the sphere of construction work and 66% of transportation services sector said that economic situation in the country improved.

Also, along with improving the economic situation and increasing production, 46% of enterprises and organizations surveyed underlined that the number of jobs increased during the second quarter of this year.

The above positive changes can be explained by the ongoing structural reforms, in particular, the liberalization of the foreign exchange market, the improvement of the terms of foreign trade, and the strengthening of measures to improve the investment and business climate.

In turn, the results of the survey showed the existence of unused production potential in the real sector of the economy, due to the persistence of certain difficulties that hamper the effective operation of enterprises. In particular, almost 40% of survey participants noted the preservation in the last quarter of risks (obstacles, problems) related to the conduct of industrial and entrepreneurial activities.

About 60% of enterprises have a capacity utilization rate of less than 80%, while 20% of respondents have less than 50%. This indicates a relatively low level of current production volume compared to the potential volume.

In addition, 32% of respondents underlined existing problems in gas supply, 39% - in electricity and 45% using infrastructure facilities (roads and railways, sewerage, water supply, etc.).

The results of the survey showed that during the second quarter of 2018 only 43% of the respondents carried out investments in fixed assets (renewal and expansion of production), which indicates a relatively low level of investment activity of the subjects of the real sector of the economy.

The survey also examined the changes in prices for goods (work, services) of enterprises in the real sector of the economy. According to the results of the survey, during the second quarter of this year almost 40% of enterprises-respondents increased prices for their goods (works, services).

At the same time, 31% of respondents raised prices within 1-5%, and 39% of respondents - within 6-10%. This indicates the preservation of a certain inflationary pressure in the economy. Along with this, according to the results of the survey, it is expected that the dynamics of growth in the real sector of the economy will remain at the end of 2018.

In particular, almost 70% of enterprises-respondents expect an increase in real output compared to 2017. At the same time, 20% of respondents expect growth at the level of 1-5%, and 30% - at the level of 6-10%.

In the survey conducted in the second quarter of 2018, 437 enterprises and organizations took part, operating in various sectors of economy, including food industry enterprises - 120 (28% of the total number of participating enterprises and organizations), light industry - 58 (13%), trade and public catering - 55 (12.5%), construction materials industry - 38 (8, 6%), transport services - 29 (7%), medical services - 28 (6.4%), tourism - 28 (6.4%), construction - 27 (6.2%), chemical industry - 12 (3%), oil and gas industry - 10 (2.3%). The remaining 32 enterprises represented electric power, grain processing, mining, automotive and pharmaceutical industries.