MINSK, 5 September (BelTA) – Belarus and Uzbekistan are set to ramp up cooperation in the light industry, head of the Belarusian light industry concern Bellegprom Tatiana Lugina said prior to a breakout session of the Belarus-Uzbekistan Women’s Business Forum, BelTA has learned.
“Belarus is on a par with Uzbekistan as far as the light industry is concerned. We have good relations with Uzbekistan’s associations that specialize in the production of textiles, leather and footwear. We interact and exchange information,” Tatiana Lugina said.
According to her, industrial cooperation is gaining on new significance these days. “Earlier we mostly purchased raw materials and semi-finished products, namely cotton fiber and yarn, as well as knitted fabrics, but now we view this country as a promising production site that has the necessary modern capacities and labor resources. And we plan to further develop cooperative production chains,” the head of the concern emphasized.
Some progress has already been made in this field. “In particular, the Zhodino-based garment factory Svitanak will soon ship the first batch of knitted fabric to make products using our patterns and designs under our brand at Uzbek knitwear enterprises,” she noted.
Uzbekistan is interested in stepping up trade with Belarus. “We will open our factory stores on the territory of Uzbekistan. This is a future point of growth,” the chair of the concern added.
Belarus has something to offer to Uzbekistan’s light industry. “These are products that are not produced in Uzbekistan. In particular, our cotton-polyester fabrics that have special protective properties sell well in Uzbekistan. Work is underway to promote our woolen and linen fabrics. In addition to that, polyester threads of our colleagues from Belneftekhim are quite in demand by the light industry of Uzbekistan,” she said.
Cooperation in the leather and footwear industry also holds a lot of promise. “The Marko holding company opened a joint venture there in 2018. It is doing well, in the future the company plans to launch joint ventures that will process sheepskin and caracultcha in Uzbekistan,” said Tatiana Lugina.
The breakout session “Promising avenues of cooperation in light industry” is taking place on the sidelines of the Belarus-Uzbekistan Women’s Business Forum in the Minsk City Palace of Culture. The participants of the session are discussing development of cooperation and implementation of joint projects, provision of the industry with raw materials and qualified personnel. Plans are in place to sign a number of contracts.
An introductory excursion to the Kamvol production workshops was held as part of the program.