Kyrgyzstan: scrapping VAT on potato exports to Uzbekistan proposed, seeds to be grown for the Uzbek market

The Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan reported on 11 November that Erlis Akunbekov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet and Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry, met Uzbekistan's Minister of Agriculture Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov in Tashkent. The Kyrgyz side proposed abolishing VAT on potato exports to Uzbekistan, and the Uzbek side said it was ready to help with a green corridor for Kyrgyz farm produce.

Key figures

• Potato exports without VAT?
• So far only a proposal
• Corridor for potatoes
• Seeds for Uzbekistan
• Storage and processing
• KG–UZ Development Fund

What changed

This is a proposal, not an adopted decision: scrapping VAT on potato exports from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan has not yet been formalized. Earlier, President Sadyr Japarov, at a meeting with residents of the Talas region, instructed that the question be considered after appeals from local farmers. Uzbekistan's agriculture minister said the Uzbek side was ready to help advance the initiative to create a green corridor for imports of potatoes and other farm products from Kyrgyzstan.

What was agreed

The sides discussed progress on earlier agreements reached at the level of presidents and heads of government and agreed on two projects:

• To build an enterprise in Kyrgyzstan for processing and storing farm products, funded by the Kyrgyz-Uzbek Development Fund.
• To produce seeds in Kyrgyzstan and then sell them on the Uzbek market.

Context

The Kyrgyz-Uzbek Development Fund was set up to support economic cooperation between the two countries and the modernization and development of their economies. The heads of state set the goal of creating joint production enterprises in Kyrgyzstan. The announcement gives no deadlines, volumes or funding amounts for the projects.

What this means for a buyer

For a farmer in Kyrgyzstan, the most important thing is the potential access to the Uzbek market: if VAT on potato exports is scrapped and the green corridor starts working, selling potatoes abroad would become easier. Seed production for the Uzbek market and new storage and processing facilities may require additional land and machinery for sowing and harvesting. No decisions have been taken yet, so plan your machinery purchase at current prices and terms and follow the Cabinet of Ministers' announcements for the timing of any VAT change.

Source: Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, 11 November 2026