A number of online news publications published articles that talked about restricting the import of certain metal products, including wire rod. The Antimonopoly Committee studied this issue.
The articles say that in accordance with the statement of the meeting of the Republican Anti-Crisis Commission of May 11, 2020, actions to support the activities of a number of local producers during the pandemic (in particular, Almalyk MMC, JSC, Uzmetkombinat JSC, Uzikkilamchiranglyglimetal JSC and JV “Tashkent Metallurgical Plant”), limit the interests of other manufacturers of rolled metal products.
A preliminary analysis showed that today 34 enterprises produce finished products from wire rod with a capacity of 14.7 thousand tons per year.
What do individual manufacturers say in appeals to the Committee? And the fact that the products made from the local wire rod do not meet quality standards, since enterprises do not produce primary metal products, but make the product from scrap metal (secondary raw materials), the mechanical and physical properties of the metal are simply not preserved in the rolling process, which in turn requires the import of metal-rolled raw materials.
According to Uzmetkombinat JSC, the production of a trial batch of wire rod raw materials is scheduled for July this year. However, even these starting capacities will not be able to satisfy the needs of manufacturers in metal rolling (various wire products, such as special wire, screws, self-tapping screws, bolts). Which, obviously, will negatively affect the competitiveness of enterprises, both in the domestic and foreign markets, the export potential will decrease, production will decrease sharply and, ultimately, the expected loss of jobs will happen.
For example, Mehmash LLC in the Namangan region spent $ 15 million in investments in the annual production of 1,000 tons of finished products, most of which are exported.
The Uzbek – Turkish and Uzbek – Chinese JV LLC DAL HEAVY INDUSTRIES and JV BAO HIN METAL in the Tashkent region have invested 15.7 million dollars and 12 million dollars in the production of metal structures, respectively.
In order to eliminate the situation where preferential conditions have been created for individual enterprises and in order to create equal opportunities for all producers, based on the requirements of the laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On guarantees of freedom of entrepreneurial activity” and “On competition”, the Antimonopoly Committee has submitted proposals to the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade and to the Cabinet of Ministers on the revision of the relevant paragraphs of the protocol of the meeting of the Republican Anti-Crisis Commission on May 11, 2020 and on the transfer of imported wire rod into the customs regime of free circulation on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Press Office of the Antimonopoly Committee