From January to July 2024, Uzbekistan's state budget deficit amounted to 36.4 trillion soums (approximately $2.8 billion), reports Gazeta.uz citing data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, in the first quarter, the deficit exceeded 19.8 trillion soums, while in the second quarter, it slowed to 14.1 trillion soums.
In July, the difference between expenditures and revenues was 2.5 trillion soums - the lowest figure since the beginning of the year (the maximum was in February - 7.2 trillion soums).
According to Uzbekistan's 2024 state budget law, it was planned with a deficit of 10.3 trillion soums, or 0.7% of GDP, and the deficit of state target funds' budgets was 30.56 trillion soums (2.3% of GDP).
Former deputy Daniyor Ganiev previously explained that at the beginning of the year, budget expenditures often exceed revenues due to gas subsidies and the slowdown of tax receipts in the winter months.
"In the second half of the year, starting from summer, our main crops in agriculture begin to ripen, then the wheat and cotton harvest begins. Then we receive dividends from our large state enterprises, including the Navoi and Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complexes, if I'm not mistaken, about 40 trillion soums. We receive dividends in the second half of the year by September 1. Thanks to this, I think that the growth of the deficit in the second half will not be as high and will begin to decrease," he said in mid-June, discussing the budget deficit in the first quarter.
At the same time, according to him, the state budget deficit in the first quarter was 19.8 trillion soums, which is lower than the forecast of 30 trillion soums. The reduction in the figure was due to a decrease in social sector expenditures. "There were questions about why social sector expenditures decreased? The government explained that these are non-optimizable expenditures, and it is about construction and current expenditures related to tender issues. Officials said that this money has not been spent yet, and they will not touch it," Ganiev said.
Ganiev also raised the issue regarding the "El-yurt umidi" Fund, which had a budget allocation of 550 billion soums ($43.6 million), but the fund has not yet announced a scholarship competition for foreign universities. For comparison, last year the fund announced the competition in April, and students managed to get visas. However, by mid-June, the competition had not yet been announced, although students had already received invitations from foreign universities.
The head of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, Mamarizo Nurmuratov, pointed out in early May the direct impact of the budget deficit on inflation but admitted that the regulator lacks tools to reduce this figure.
"The formation of a budget deficit above an acceptable level has a direct impact on our monetary indicators, macroeconomic stability, and most importantly - on inflation... We need to understand one thing - keeping and reducing inflation to the target is the primary task of all economic departments. The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan is taking all necessary measures for this. At least once a week, we discuss these issues," he said.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan provides data on the revenues and expenditures of only the state budget. There is also a more extensive consolidated budget, which includes the state budget itself, as well as the budgets of state target funds, extra-budgetary funds of budgetary organizations, and funds from the Reconstruction and Development Fund (sovereign fund).
The limit for the consolidated budget deficit of Uzbekistan for 2024 is approved at 4% of GDP, or about 52.6 trillion soums or $4.17 billion (revenues are expected at 375.03 trillion soums, expenditures - 427.64 trillion soums). State budget revenues are forecasted at 270.4 trillion soums, and expenditures - at 280.7 trillion soums, with a deficit of 10.3 trillion soums.
In 2023, the consolidated budget deficit of Uzbekistan amounted to a record 59 trillion soums (over $5 billion), significantly exceeding the figures of previous years. At the end of last year, the government of Uzbekistan raised the limit through parliament as it failed to fit within the framework of state expenditures.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
August 7, 2024