The agency recalled that the practice of calculating the cost of minimum consumer expenses in Uzbekistan was introduced in accordance with a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers in 2021. Minimum consumer spending is the estimated amount of minimum spending on food and non-food products, as well as on services, based on the study of the real cost and composition of consumption necessary for the healthy functioning of households.

We add that the amount of minimum consumer spending in Uzbekistan in 2021 amounted to 440 thousand soums, in 2022 - 498 thousand soums. In 2023, this figure amounted to 568 thousand soums. Thus, the difference amounted to a little more than 50 thousand soums.

It is noted that in world practice, the use of the minimum consumption indicator as a poverty line is widespread and is used in the following cases:

- to identify the target (targeted) group of the population in need of material and other social assistance from the state;

- when identifying the poverty line in the country, when it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of real consumption and the needs of the target group's population;

- to increase the effectiveness, targeting of tasks and activities defined in poverty reduction strategies and programs, as well as to conduct their constant monitoring;

- to use this indicator as a criterion for determining the minimum amount of pensions and benefits, as well as for providing other types of financial assistance to low-income families.