Uzbekistan Expands Financial Support for Agriculture Sector

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan has approved additional financial support measures for cotton and wheat producers, set to take effect from the 2026 harvest. The new compensation mechanisms aim to reduce the credit burden on farms, support processing enterprises, and partially subsidize fuel costs.

According to a presidential decree, the functions of distributing subsidies have been assigned to the Agricultural Payments Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture. The agency will compensate part of the interest payments on preferential loans issued for cotton production.

Depending on repayment terms, farmers will be eligible for compensation of 2.5 percentage points if loans are repaid on schedule under the contract, or up to 5 percentage points if debts are fully repaid by the end of the harvest year, by 31 December.

Separate measures are предусмотрed for wheat producers. If preferential loans are fully repaid by 1 August of the harvest year, farms will receive compensation covering 4 percentage points of interest paid. The measures are intended to encourage timely loan repayment and improve financial discipline in the agricultural sector.

Support also extends to cotton-textile clusters and textile enterprises. They will receive partial compensation for interest payments on commercial loans exceeding 8 percentage points but not more than 16 percentage points, provided that borrowed funds are used to purchase raw cotton. This is intended to promote a full production cycle, from raw cotton cultivation to deep processing.

Another area of support involves partial subsidization of diesel fuel costs. From 1 April to 1 July 2026, agricultural enterprises will be able to receive compensation for fuel purchases on the exchange when prices exceed 13 million soums per ton, with reimbursement capped at 2 million soums per ton. Funding will be provided from the republican budget.

From 1 September 2026, there will also be a redistribution of responsibilities within the state agricultural support system. Several functions of the State Agricultural Support Fund will be transferred to the Agricultural Payments Agency, including compensation for part of the costs of electronic invoices in cotton sales and support for cotton-textile clusters in raw material procurement.

The new measures reflect a policy direction focused on strengthening state support for key agricultural sectors, improving the efficiency of credit financing, and developing the agro-processing industry in Uzbekistan.