Experts are disturbed with the curtailment of legal bordering trade between the areas of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan geographically included into the Ferghana Valley. Statistics shows that currently the parties convey a stingy amount of goods to one another. From Uzbekistan there go mineral fertilizers, combustible-lubricating stuffs, early vegetables, fruits. Kyrgyzstan delivers potatoes, rice, Chinese consumers goods. Tajikistan supplies desiccated fruits … And that is all, so to say. Contraband is thriving to balance the situation.
As local economists assert, practically all Batken province uses illegal combustibles from the contiguous state. Even Jalal-Abad province having a petroleum mill of its own caters a half of its needs at the cost of this fuel.
Why does legal business retreat clearing the way for shady frameworks?
- Complicated customs producers, enormous extra charges, faultfinding and extortions on the part of officials discourage from dealing with old partners, - told the participants of the “round table” titled “ Promotion to Trade Development in the Ferghana Valley” held in Osh under the aegis of PRAGMA/USAID corporation which assembled the delegations of three countries.
Entrepreneurs complain of bureaucratic arbitrariness. In order to export o commodity a firm must present … a score of certificates of diverse nominations. Up to … the copies of institutional documents and a charter of an enterprise of organization. At customs stations the process of papers framing is unreasonably dragged out. Moreover, you are to be haunting the thresholds of Intrans, veterinary, ecology posts … Financial police may invite you at any time, even when there is no need of it. The there are a lot of bars when you are going to transport your cargo. For example, social insurance of a vehicle from CIS costs 65 dollars in Uzbekistan. Plus other payments. Extortions on the way of following (auto inspection, sanitary control, other checks) are in general out of account. Businessmen from abroad are fleeced no less flagrantly both in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Of a merchant manages to surmount all the bars a customer is not relieved: the expenses wasted on the way are included into commodity price. In the outcome the fist sufferer is that one who buys goods. The fisc of the three countries loses from contraband flagrancy as well.
One fact is striking, however astonishing it may seem: in bordering areas of the three states there are hundreds of joint ventures with far abroad countries and Russia. But as for Kyrgyz-Uzbek or Uzbek-Tajik ones, you may use your fingers to count them. And in some areas of the Ferghana Valley they are absent in general. Is it only red tape being to blame? Or is there something else which can’t be “leapt over”?
Meanwhile there are good example too. Recently Jalal-Abad “Nur” JSC (former mill of current disconnecting plugs) and Marhamat electro technical plant (Andijahn viloyat) formed “Electronur” JV. The first part of production was traded off quickly : electro appliances of good quality enjoyed great demands in the market of the neighboring republic. In Jalal-Abad they make 33 nominations of completing details for the cars of “UzDAEWOOauto” company; the volume of annual export being equal to 7-7.5 million USA dollars. Now cooperation with the third Uzbekistan enterprise is looked forward to. In the offing there is a production of children’s bicycle jointly with “Andijahn mash” plant.
- One should get rid of the shaped mutual mistrust, - says the head of “Nur” JSC Abdugapar Tagoyev. - I am convinced, a number of questions may be settled quite properly on a regional level and even on a district one. We survived this situation launching “Electronur”. Being tired of waiting for a real support from capital officials we applied to local instances with our partners. And things started moving.
By the way, it was PRAGMA/USAID which helped the partners to find each other. So, it turned out that Americans brought neighbors together, promoted their cooperation.
Or another example. Some years ago Uzbek cattle-breeders ceased utilizing summer pastures of Alay. Bishkek instances having annulled jailoo (pastures) employment tariffs established by local authorities rose prices steeply. The neighbors drove their herds to their own stingy meadows in the depth of the country. Both sides were aggrieved. Regional powers helped to reinstate the former situation. Quoting Osh province governor Naken Kasiyev, this year up to 30 000 sheep and cows from Uzbekistan farms will be putting on their flesh on the succulent herbs of Alay. Apart from the abovementioned problems, the coordinator of PRAGMA/USAID realized project on promotion to bordering trade in the Ferghana Valley Sabyrbek Akimbayev draws attention to a deficiency of information about one another, changes in legislation.
- We move from small things to big ones, - says the interlocutor. - An optional variant is creation of boards on bordering trade, they might include both state clerks and businessmen from both sides. They might settle many questions on a local level without touching an intergovernmental one.
The shortest way of cooperation is to move towards one another. Having formed working groups the “round table” participants made the first real step on this way. They will tackle an elaboration of recommendations on bordering trade revival .first of all, one should designate potential availabilities of the countries, the ways of lessening administrative barriers and etc. Proposals are to be approbated in the Batken-Khujand-Ferghana commercial triangle.
As many participants of discussions held in Osh deem, the political of supreme echelons of power can change the situation radically. There are enough declarations on that score. But real steps have not been seen yet.