BISHKEK (TCA) — Small and medium enterprises account for around 40 percent of GDP in Kyrgyzstan, Deputy Economy Minister of Kyrgyzstan Daniyar Imanaliyev said at the January 13 roundtable on the development of small and medium business, said the press service of the Economy Ministry.
In his words, in the first ten months of 2015 Kyrgyzstan’s foreign trade amounted to $4.571 billion, with imports (which lowered by 25.5 percent compared with 2014) exceeding exports almost threefold. Between January and October 2015, Kyrgyzstan imported goods worth $3.389 billion and exported goods worth $1.182 billion. During that period, the exports also lowered, by 6.5 percent.
According to Imanaliyev, the strength of the national currency depends on production. To reduce its dependence on sharp fluctuations of the dollar, Kyrgyzstan needs to reduce the current imbalance in trade. The country is able to export more even with the existing production level if it uses advantages of its membership of the WTO and Eurasian Economic Union.
Kyrgyzstan can increase exports by supporting small and medium business, which is the backbone of the economy in any country. In developed countries SMEs account for 50-70 percent of the economy. In Kyrgyzstan, SMEs produce around 40 percent of GDP, contributing to the state budget and employing tens of thousands of citizens. Kyrgyzstan’s business community believes this sector has a big development potential.
Under conditions of economic crisis, it is small and medium business that can help weak economies to get a “second wind,” the deputy minister said.
