News 
Dutch company to build potato processing plant in Kazakhstan's Almaty region
The Dutch company Farm Frites, one of the world's largest potato-processing companies, will build a plant in the Almaty region next year. The proposed plant, whose cost is estimated at $165 million, will focus on eleven elite potato varieties and is expected to process approximately 70,000 tons per year. The Netherlands has been the largest foreign investor in Kazakhstan, accounting for nearly 30 percent of total foreign investment. "Farm Frites Eurasia" will join nearly 950 other Kazakh-Dutch joint enterprises currently in operation and represents growing Dutch interest in the country's agrobusiness potential. - Astana Times
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Uzbekistan to reduce cotton export
On a working visit to the Jizzakh region, Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced plans to reduce the export of raw cotton and increase processing in the domestic market. Uzbekistan is currently the world’s sixth-largest cotton producer, even after an 8 percent decrease in production in 2017. One of Uzbekistan’s policy goals is to develop its domestic textile industry in order to provide domestic employment opportunities and increase value-added production. – MENAFN, Innovation in Textiles
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News 
Remittances to Central Asia surge but fall short of historic highs
New data from Russia’s Central Bank show that remittances to Central Asian countries continued their positive trajectories in 2017. Remittances to Kyrgyzstan reached an all-time high of $2.21 billion last year. Two non-Eurasian Economic Union countries, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, saw 31 and 42 percent increases in remittances from the previous year, respectively. However, their totals fell far shy of previous records set in 2013. Of the three major migrant-sending nations in Central Asia, only Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, giving its citizens stronger legal rights to work in Russia. – EurasiaNet [Read more...]

News 
Vegetable oil production launches in East Kazakhstan region
Tag-Tin, a Kazakh food company, is planning to open a sunflower and rapeseed processing plant using state financing earmarked for domestic producers. The new factory will be the second of its kind in Kazakhstan, which is looking to export processed oil made from the two crops. A local trade group official noted that sunflower and rapeseed oil are in great demand in China. Kazakh oil processors serve the domestic market but are unable to meet local demand and compete largely with Russian products. – Astana Times
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News 
Uzbekistan drops objections to giant Tajik hydro project
In a landmark reversal of a longstanding strategic policy, Uzbekistan declared that it will support Tajikistan’s Rogun Dam project. On his first visit to Tajikistan since entering office, Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced that his government will drop its objections to what is projected to become the world’s tallest dam. Tajikistan views Rogun as a solution to its recurring energy problems and a potential revenue source, while Uzbekistan had long opposed it over fears that it would disrupt the flow of irrigation water. The diplomatic breakthrough follows months of speculation and a gradual re-opening of commercial ties between the two countries. – Reuters
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Uzbekistan to enter IMF's data system
The State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan announced that it will join the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) General Data Dissemination System (p-GDDS) by the coming May, which will give foreign investors, companies, and financial institutions full access to various economic data following accepted international standards. The move is intended to attract foreign investors, who have had to rely on questionable official data. Uzbekistan’s statistics committee has been under pressure to reform by the current presidential administration. – AzerNews [Read more...]

News 
EBRD announces forecast for Kazakhstan's economic development in 2018
A European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) official presented the EBRD Transition Report 2018-19 in Astana this week. The EBRD forecasts 3.5 to 4 percent growth in the Kazakh economy in 2018 predicated on a favorable international environment and oil prices over $60 per barrel. – KazInform [Read more...]

News 
Kazakhstan: precision agriculture technology, digitization introduced to boost productivity
This year, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture will focus on introducing precision technology, intensive irrigation, livestock development, and renewing agricultural machinery. These four priority areas are intended to increase agricultural labor productivity. In addition, the ministry plans to streamline agricultural research and improve sanitary and phytosanitary procedures. – Astana Times [Read more...]

News 
IFAD: $39 million investment to stimulate inclusive economic growth in Tajikistan
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the government of Tajikistan signed a financing agreement for a $39.3 million project that will promote inclusive economic growth in poor rural communities. The project, aimed at improving access to infrastructure and services, will be implemented in several districts of Tajikistan with high poverty rates. – IFAD [Read more...]

News 
Tajikistan to increase land allocated for cotton in 2018
Tajikistan will allocate an additional 13,500 hectares for cotton in 2018, which will be offset by a reduction in area for grain and forage crops. Cotton planting and production had been experiencing a sustained decline over the past five years as agricultural planners focused on other crops. In 2017, cotton producers beat forecasts set by the agricultural ministry, collecting 380,000 tons. Some local experts believe that an increase in international cotton prices could be encouraging the change. – Asia-Plus [Read more...]

News 
EBRD and EU launch small business program in Central Asia
The EBRD will manage an EU-funded project called the Regional Small Business Programme (RSBP), which will support the development of small businesses in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The project will equip financial institutions in the region with digital business tools and the know-how to aid small- and medium-sized enterprises. – EBRD [Read more...]

News 
Uzbekistan to end preferential terms for food importers
Individual companies will no longer benefit from preferential customs and tax arrangements on food imports starting on February 1. According to the presidential decree, some Uzbek importers have leveraged these benefits to monopolize the market and raise consumer prices. The decree aims to level the playing field for food suppliers entering the market and will be followed in April by a more comprehensive law on food security. – Tashkent Times
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Government of Tajikistan and World Bank sign new project to improve irrigation and food security
The government of Tajikistan and the World Bank signed a $16.5 million grant agreement for the Zarafshon Irrigation Rehabilitation and Management Improvement Project on January 16. The project will focus on infrastructure and institutional support in the Zarafshon river basin in northern Tajikistan. Approximately 40 percent of total irrigable land in the area is used for low-yielding barley, wheat, and oilseeds. The project aims to help farmers increase yields or switch to higher-value production. – ReliefWeb [Read more...]

News 
Kazakhstan set to increase agricultural exports
The Kazakh agricultural ministry plans to increase agricultural exports in 2018, following 11 percent growth between 2016 and 2017. Kazakh producers exported $1.75 billion worth of goods in 2017, aided by expansion into new markets in the Middle East and China. Kazakhstan has begun exporting livestock products and live cattle to the Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE and signed agreements to export an unprecedented variety of various agricultural products to China. – AzerNews

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News 
Uzbekistan to expand export destinations for fruits and vegetables
In an interview with Russian media outlets, chairman of the Uzbekozikovkatholding company Tohirjon Zhalilov claimed that Uzbek fruits and vegetables will enter new markets in 2018. His company signed contracts with several Asian and European countries in 2017 and may expand to Africa and the Western Hemisphere in the next few years. – AzerNews [Read more...]

News 
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan pledge to improve ties in wake of trade war
On December 25, the leaders of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan pledged to improve relations following a political row that degenerated into a trade war this fall. It is understood that the dispute was largely a personality-driven one pitting the former Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev against the Kazakh government. With a new Kyrgyz president in office, it appears that the two countries are taking steps to deescalate tensions. – Reuters
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News & Analysis
Central Asia Yet to Adjust to Cheaper Oil: World Bank
Countries across energy-rich Central Asia are a long way from readjusting to lower oil prices and will need to carry out large-scale reforms to regain competitiveness, according to Hans Timmer, Chief Economist for the Europe and Central Asia region of the World Bank. Timmer suggests that lack of transformation is a huge risk and, fundamentally, reforms need to focus on improving the business environment.– Reuters [Read more...]

News
WFP introduces its first cash assistance in Tajikistan
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will partner with microfinance provider IMON International to launch its first cash assistance project in Tajikistan. The project will benefit 500 vulnerable families in Sharituz and Balkhi (previously J. Rumi) districts in Khatlon province. Participants will receive cash incentives in return for community work including the rehabilitation of irrigation systems, drainage canals, and roads. – ReliefWeb [Read more...]

News
Uzbekistan to expand crop area of beans
Beans, mung beans, and peas will occupy more than 374,000 hectares of cropland in 2018, or approximately 40 percent of total crop area. Beans have become an important export crop for Uzbekistan: mung bean exports tripled between 2015 and 2016, for instance. This year, Uzbekistan started growing a new type of mung bean for export to India. – AzerNews [Read more...]