During the presentations, the management of the Association provided detailed information about the current state and prospects for the development of the leather and shoe industry.

The following data are given: if in 2017 the enterprises of the industry implemented 17 projects worth $ 18 million and created 800 jobs, then in 2021 - 112 projects totaling $ 202 million with the creation of 12 thousand new jobs. Thanks to the support of the state, 555 projects worth over $ 1 billion are planned to be implemented by 2026, due to which 50,000 new jobs will be created.

Production volumes showed a similar growth: in 2017, products worth 760 billion soums were produced, in 2021 - by 4.4 trillion soums, and in 2026 it is planned to produce leather and shoe products worth 18.6 trillion soums. In terms of exports, there is also an increase - so in 2017, products worth $ 105 million were delivered to foreign markets, in 2021 - by $ 421 million, and in 2026, industry enterprises intend to export goods worth $ 1.2 billion.

In the course of a detailed analysis of the prospects for the development of the leather and shoe and fur industries, problems and proposals were voiced in terms of high-quality procurement of raw materials, optimization of the production process, implementation of projects in clusters, in small industrial zones. In addition, the topics of increasing exports of products, improving the system of training and retraining of personnel, participation of enterprises from Uzbekistan in specialized international exhibitions, financing innovative projects in the industry, the creation of shopping centers in the country and large wholesale ones abroad were touched upon.

Following the discussion, the management of the Association was instructed to study in detail the voiced issues and develop further steps for the integrated development of the industry, the press service of the Ministry of Investment and foreign trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan reports.