ADB increases Uzbekistan's economic growth forecast

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has improved the economic growth forecast of Uzbekistan for the current and next year. This was reported in the September review of the bank.

According to the ADB forecast, the economy of Uzbekistan will grow by 5.5% annually in the next two years. In April, the bank predicted 5% economic growth.

The increase in exports of food and textile products to Russia and the growth of investments are among the reasons for improving the forecast.

Uzbekistan's economy grew by 5.6% in the first half of the year, which was higher than expected. This was supported by fiscal stimulus, robust foreign trade, industrial growth, and increased mining and investment. However, consumption has slowed due to inflation.

Also, ADB does not expect inflation to fall below 10%. The report notes that price liberalization will help increase inflationary pressures in the short term.

In addition, in the first quarter of this year, the volume of remittances decreased by 55% compared to the peak in 2022. One of the reasons for this is the decrease in the number of seasonal labor migrants working in Russia.