Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- President of Uzbekistan signed a resolution “On measures to improve the system of financing the costs of growing and picking raw cotton”.

According to the document, starting from the harvest of 2022, the procedure for financing the growing of raw cotton and picking cotton is being introduced at the expense of the Fund for State Support of Agriculture (FSSA), in accordance with which:

a) preferential financing of raw cotton growing and harvesting is carried out through cotton-textile clusters and elite seed farms as part of the Seed Development Center;

b) commercial banks at the expense of resources from the FSSA allocate preferential loans:

- the clusters for growing cotton - in the amount of up to 60% of the cost of raw cotton at a rate of 10% per annum (including bank margin - 2%) for a period of 24 months, including a grace period of 18 months, starting from the 19th month - with the condition of return within the next 6 months in equal shares;

- Center for seed production under the central control system for growing raw cotton - in the amount of up to 60% of the cost of raw cotton at a rate of 10% per annum (including the bank's margin - 2%) for a period of 14 months;

- The clusters and Center for speed production for financing the cotton harvest - in the amount of up to 20% of the cost of raw cotton at a rate of 10% per annum (including the bank's margin - 2%) for a period of 12 months, including a grace period of 3 months.

Determined that:

- cotton-textile clusters at the expense of FSSA are paid compensation to cover part of the interest rate on commercial loans allocated in the national economy. currency for a period of up to 12 months for the final settlement of raw cotton purchases exceeding the basic rate of the Central Bank, but not more than 10 percentage points. At the same time, the costs of compensation for commercial loans are financed from the state budget;

- starting from the harvest of 2023, financing of the costs of growing cotton from the clusters and the Center for seed production begins from 1 October preceding the corresponding harvest year;

- concessional loans allocated for the clusters for the purpose of growing raw cotton are directed to farms to finance agricultural activities related to the cultivation of raw cotton, with the exception of loans allocated by the clusters for growing raw cotton on agricultural land they lease;

- prepayment by the clusters to farms for growing raw cotton is made in cash;

- issues related to mineral fertilizers, fuels and lubricants, equipment and technical services (except for chemical plant protection products), including their import, are resolved by agricultural producers independently;

- soft loans for the cultivation of raw cotton for the harvest of 2021, allocated to the clusters, which has the capacity for processing cotton fiber, starting from September 2022, are subject to return within 6 months in equal installments.

The document granted the FFSA the right to conduct an audit of the effectiveness of the use of funds allocated to it with the involvement of audit and business consulting organizations on a contractual basis.