Small businesses of Uzbekistan produce 48.5% of GDP

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Small businesses of Uzbekistan produced 48.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in nine months of 2010 compared to 45.1% in January-September 2009, the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan said.

The sector provided 8.634 million persons with employment (74.4% of total persons employed in the economy), including individual sector employed 6.63 million persons and small enterprises and microfirms – 2.004 million persons. The number of persons engaged in the private sector of small business was 7.965 million or 92.3% of total employment in the sphere of small business.

Small enterprises of Uzbekistan produced industrial output at the volume of 4.474 trillion soums (18.7% of total industrial production), which is up 24.1% year-on-year.

This sector also utilized investments worth 3.360 trillion soums (31.2% of total utilized investments), executed construction works for 3.094 trillion soums (51.4% of total construction works), which is up 32.8% year-on-year.

Small businesses ensured the growth of freight turnover of motor transport by 9.2% (74.9% of total freight turnover) and passenger turnover - by 9.4% (84.2% of total passenger turnover).

The committee said that small businesses formed 49.5% (7.489 trillion soums) of total retail trade turnover (the growth – 22.5%), 44.2% (2.356 trillion soums) of total paid services (the growth – 8%).

Small businesses exported goods for US$1.152 billion (12% of total exports), which is down by 1.8% year-on-year, and imported goods at the volume of US$2.25 billion (37.9% of total imports), which is down by 27% year-on-year.