Turkish footwear manufacturers are ready to invest $1 million in the manufacture of leather, footwear and fur goods in Tashkent’s Ahangaran district.

Discussions between the head of Layki, a leader in the Turkish footwear and textile market, and Fakhriddin Boboevoy, chairman of the Uzcharmsanoat Association, focused on the company’s bid for land, the schedule and format of subsequent conferences, technological issues and the exchange of best practices.

Previous plans announced by the Uzcharmsanoat Association included the establishment of a leather and footwear production complex in the small industrial zone of Ahangaran comprising 26 projects with a total value of $30 million. The Turkish company Warboots, which has already committed $50 million to an enterprise to produce military footwear, has declared an interest in production at Ahangaran. Through an initial investment of $15 million, the enterprise will create 4,000 jobs for local residents.

Other Turkish companies are likewise, keen to set up operations in the Ahangaran zone. The Gratto brand is conducting a feasibilty study for a tannery which will export products to Italy and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, and the Uzbek company Magna Sport is in talks with Turkey’s Bursa Eldiven Sanayi to produce industrial gloves. The Turkish brand Myfit is liaising with Uzbek enterprises for the production of its licensed goods under an outsourcing system and preliminary agreements have been reached on the creation of product samples and the supply of raw materials. Uzbek industrialists, together with the Turkish company El Taban are due to begin production of next-generation shoe soles, with the initial cost of the project set at $2.1 million.

Given the country’s wide availability of raw materials, inexpensive labour and easy access to global markets, players in South Korea, Italy, Russia, China and Germany are also actively interested in embarking on joint projects with Uzbekistan’s leather industry.

As of March 1, 2024, the official reserve assets of Uzbekistan amounted to $32.19 billion, having decreased by $2.37 billion in January and February, according to data from the central bank.

The regulator indicated that foreign-currency reserves dropped by $381.5 million in February and by $1.44 billion in January, with the combined decline of $1.82 billion reducing the remaining total to $7.55 billion.

The price of gold dropped to $2,066 per ounce from $2,076 in January — and to $2,059 by the end of February. However, in March, the price has set new records and is closing in on $2,200 per ounce.

At the end of 2023, Uzbekistan’s so-called financial cushion was $34.56 billion, down $1.2 billion from the previous year. That was the first year-over-year decline in reserves since 2018. Over the course of the year, the physical volume of the country’s gold reserves dropped by nearly 25 tons.