20 March 2004 11:35
Uzbek ministry reports "stable economic growth" in early 2004
There was stable economic growth and low inflation in Uzbekistan in January-February 2004, the press service of the
Ministry of Economics of Uzbekistan told the [Russian] RIA news agency on 19 March.
The ministry believes this was achieved thanks to the creation of a favourable macroeconomic atmosphere [in the
country] for developing entrepreneurship, the speeding up structural reforms in the economy, the implementation of new
investment projects and the maintenance of the government's balanced policy in the monetary, credit, tax and budget
spheres. An important factor in achieving this was the fact that the practice of allocating Central Bank credits to
cover the state deficit - the main source of inflation in the past - was abandoned in 2003.
According to data provided by the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, industrial production in January-February
grew by 9.6 per cent, as compared with the same period last year (it was 2.5 per cent in 2003). There was a 21.1 per
cent growth in ferrous metallurgy output; and it was 35.6 per cent in the mechanical engineering and metal-working
industry, 13.8 per cent in the production of construction materials and 11.4 per cent in light industry.
Oil extraction increased by 7.9 per cent. The extraction of natural gas and coal increased by 7.6 per cent and 15.3
per cent respectively.
[Passage to end omitted: known facts on inflation rates in 2004]
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