Uzbek publishers allowed to set their own prices

Shavkat Mirziyoyev . Photo from Azattyk.org

Publishing and printing houses in Uzbekistan will be allowed to set their own prices following market conditions, according to a new decree by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev published on UzA (in Russian).

Licensing for printing and publishing enterprises will be abolished from 1 July this year. Companies wishing to undertake such activities will simply be required to inform the relevant government agency of this through an online system.

Among a series of other changes introduced by the decree, a number of state-owned publishing houses will be handed over to the Agency for the Management of State Assets for privatisation.

In November 2017, President Mirziyoyev signed a decree ordering a gradual transition from state regulation of prices for common high-liquidity products towards market-based pricing. Since then, state regulation of agricultural products, including cotton and grains, has been abolished.