(VAN) Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree under which the government would facilitate the establishment of a poultry cluster in the country for US$100 million.

The decree titled ‘On measures to further support the poultry industry, introduce modern genetic technologies, and promote cooperative systems’ envisages that the authorities will allocate 400 ha of agricultural land in 6 regions for the construction of poultry farms, hatcheries and feed production capacities.

As indicated in the decree, US$40 million is due to be invested by international financial institutions, US$35 million by the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan, and the remaining US$25 million by an unnamed ‘project initiator’.

In the first stage, the authorities plan to establish poultry farms with an annual capacity of 100,000 heads each in the Zaamin, Bakhmal, Bulungur, and Gallaaral regions. After that, 2 more farms will be built in the Akhangaran and Parkent for 135,000 heads of broilers each.

In parallel, the plan involves building a feed mill with a capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year and a slaughterhouse with a broiler meat processing plant to secure annual production of 100,000 tonnes of broiler meat.

New food security level

The cluster is expected to ramp up Uzbek poultry meat production by nearly 20%. This will tangibly bolster food security in the country, braced for a steady growth in food consumption thanks to a gradual rise in the population.

The government forecasts that Uzbekistan’s population will cross the 40 million mark by 2030. Since independence, the country’s population has jumped by 15 million people, reaching 36 million in early 2024. In a few years, Uzbekistan is expected to account for half of the population in Central Asia.

The establishment of the cluster aligns with the targets of the Food Security Strategy through 2030 adopted in the country in February 2024.

Generous aid fosters growth

The Uzbek government is anticipating a US$420 million investment in poultry farms by the end of the decade. The funds are expected to come from international organisations and banks to support promising projects, according to the government.

Over the past few years, the Uzbek government has made poultry farmers eligible for generous state aid measures, including tax exemptions. As estimated by the state statistical service, Uzbekistan produced 544,700 tonnes of meat, which is 3.5% higher compared with the previous year.

A US partner

Uzbekistan plans to partner with an American company, which dominates 80% of the global poultry genetics market, to bring advanced genetic technologies into its poultry farming sector and establish breeding farms.

A key challenge identified in the sector is genetics, with Uzbekistan lacking a first-order meat poultry reproducer and relying on imports from Hungary for second-order poultry.

HD
(PW)