Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Experts from the Institute for Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research (IPMI) analyzed Uzbekistan’s participation in the global market for water saving technologies (WST).

In the future, Uzbekistan plans to introduce water-saving technologies on an area of about 2 million hectares. This will require US$5.8 billion worth of WST equipment at current prices.

According to the analysis, in the republic the area of application of WST has increased by 7.7 times over the past five years. It was found that if the area of application of the WST expands 10 times, then the need for various hydraulic equipment increases by 6.6 times. The operating enterprises for the production of equipment and components of WST in the republic cannot fully cover these needs.

The study analyzed the level of monopolization of local WST producers and service providers using the Hirschmann-Herfindahl Index (HHI). According to various estimates, the HHI index of the domestic WST market in 2021 was 3912, and in 2022 it decreased to 2518 (moderate market HHI ≤ 1800). As a result of the high degree of monopolization of the WST market, the average price of WST per 1 ha has increased by 1.6 times over the past three years.

To meet the growing demand and achieve efficiency in this area, it is considered appropriate to integrate into the world market of WST in order to attract innovation to Uzbekistan. The world market opens up opportunities such as saving water by attracting innovation, further increasing productivity, and creating a competitive environment in the WST market.

According to international experts, the current volume of the global WST market is US$9.3 billion, and by 2028 this volume may reach US$23.3 billion. The leaders in the use of TSA are such countries as Brazil (77% of all sown areas), Spain (73%), Italy (60%), South Korea (60%), USA (56%), Saudi Arabia (56%), France (41%), China (41%).

The deep integration of Uzbekistan into the world market of WST will lead to the expansion of the introduction of innovative technologies in the country’s agriculture, increase water saving by 30% and productivity by 2 times. In addition, the following opportunities will open up in this area:

- increasing the level of food security of the country;

- ensuring the stability of prices for fruits and vegetables necessary for the consumption of the population;

- reducing water deficit during the growing season and increasing land use productivity;

- formation of a competitive environment in the market of water-saving technologies in each region and an increase in the choice of water-saving technologies for consumers;

- formation of farmers’ own "business initiatives" for the introduction of WST;

- expanding the possibilities of objective accounting of water consumption in irrigated areas;

- creation of SEZ and MPZ, specializing in the production of WST equipment.