Cabinet of Ministers resolution introduces sugar import quota from 2027

The quota is divided equally: 100,000 tonnes each are allocated to producers of beverages, confectionery, and other food products. The government will approve the volume for the upcoming year every November based on proposals from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Competition Promotion and Consumer Protection Committee, and the National Statistics Committee, and it can be revised once every six months. The quotas will be allocated via online auctions: the platform must be launched by December 1, 2026, and linked to the Customs Committee's "Single Window" system, with auction results being public.

The document is not available in the Lex.uz database. Gazeta.uz, which also obtained a copy, writes that it is marked "for official use only" and does not explain how shipments exceeding 300,000 tonnes will be processed.

Support is envisioned for local plants. Starting in 2027, state organizations and state enterprises must purchase white sugar primarily from domestic producers, and all output from the plants will be routed through the commodity exchange. Debts owed to Uzpromstroybank are allowed to be stretched out up to five years, including a grace period of up to two years. Within one month, the Ministry of Economy and Finance must draft amendments to the Tax Code exempting the plants from corporate income tax until January 1, 2031; property tax is proposed to be set at 50% of the current rate (according to Gazeta.uz, a full exemption).

At the same time, banking oversight is being tightened: plants are advised to appoint representatives of creditor banks as chief financial officers, with the right to veto decisions that could worsen the borrower's position. It is proposed that dividends not be distributed until the loans are repaid in full. Oversight of the resolution's implementation has been assigned to Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjayev.