Uzbekistan’s Catering Sector Turns Over Over 17 Trillion Soums in Nine Months

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — In the first nine months of 2025, the turnover of catering enterprises in Uzbekistan exceeded 17.2 trillion soums, according to data from the tax authorities.

The majority of this turnover comes from 125 large businesses in the sector: 30 fast-food chains generated 3.4 trillion soums, 50 catering companies 2.5 trillion soums, and 45 restaurants 1.2 trillion soums.

These enterprises contributed 339.1 billion soums in taxes to the budget. Fast-food establishments accounted for the largest share — 186 billion soums, nearly three times the tax revenue of the restaurant segment.

High performance is explained by large customer flows (ranging from 426,000 to 1.598 million visitors), relatively low prices, and active integration into the formal economy through digital accounting systems.

Digital technologies, including online cash registers, electronic fiscal invoices, and tax reporting, enable real-time monitoring of business operations and performance analysis. The cashback mechanism for fiscal receipts encourages customers to request receipts with every purchase; over 13.4 billion soums in cashback has been registered through catering receipts.

Accounting data shows that catering services served more than 3.3 million visitors, while approximately 6.3 million taxi trips ended at the specified addresses. These data allow companies to reconcile reported income with customer flows and identify potential risks.

The development of formal accounting also reflects on the labor market: around 32,000 people are employed in large catering enterprises, more than half under the age of 30. In nine months, 637.2 billion soums was spent on wages, with the average monthly salary reaching 2.2 million soums.