Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A videoconference meeting was held between the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Chinese company CAMC Engineering.

As part of the event, the possibility of supplying agricultural machinery and drip irrigation systems was discussed. Minister of Agriculture Aziz Voitov, who took part in the meeting, briefed the Chinese side on the ongoing work in our country to modernize agriculture and equip it with modern machinery and technology.

Also, the Uzbek side expressed its readiness to discuss cooperation on the purchase of modern agricultural machinery and the localization of its production. It was noted that the reforms being implemented in our country in terms of technical and technological re-equipment of agricultural enterprises create favorable opportunities for equipping them with modern equipment. In particular, it is about:

- subsidies in the amount of 15 percent of the cost of equipment will be provided to all local manufacturers without requiring a level of localization;

- all types of agricultural machinery and units, as well as components and spare parts for them, imported by agricultural enterprises and business entities, as an exception, are exempt from customs payments until 1 January 2025 (except for value added tax and customs clearance fees) and disposal fee;

- value added tax is paid with a delay of up to 270 days from the date of entry into the customs regime of free circulation (import) of business entities.

All this naturally significantly increases the interest in Uzbekistan from foreign manufacturers of agricultural machinery. For example, the CAMC Engineering company expressed its desire to contribute to the provision of modern and efficient agricultural equipment in Uzbekistan. During the negotiations, the Chinese side indicated its readiness to develop and submit to the Uzbek side a package of major proposals, including all types of equipment necessary for the agro-industrial complex of our country, including drip irrigation systems. 

The meeting discussed the compliance of the proposed equipment with the climatic and soil conditions of Uzbekistan, as well as the issues of providing guarantees and financing sales contracts. Then a bilateral working group was formed and a decision was made to develop a roadmap for mutual cooperation as soon as possible. In addition, on the sidelines of the summit of the heads of China and the states of Central Asia, which will be held in the Chinese city of Xian, it is planned to sign an agreement between the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan and CAMC Engineering.

CAMC Engineering was founded in 2001 and is part of the China National Machinery Corporation (SINOMACH) group of companies, a large state-owned backbone enterprise of China, which is directly controlled by the central government of the PRC. SAMC Engineering has 9 main subsidiaries and 9 high-tech enterprises. The company's net profit last year amounted to US$46.2 million. In 2022, the company's total assets exceeded US$3.2 billion.