|                                                                                                                                                             |  | REGIONAL CORNER: NAVOI REGION, UZBEKISTAN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
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|**BISNISHome PageSearchBISNISEmbassyReportsCountryReportsIndustryReportsPublicationsSourcesof FinanceLeadsand EventsExchangeRatesState ExportsOtherSources** |  | October 1997by John BreidenstineUzbekistan's Navoi Region is home to a wide range of industrial and agricultural enterprises, a
number of which are already attracting the interest of U.S. and other foreign firms.  Local
manufacturers and mining companies produce a variety of chemical products, mineral ores, and
building materials.  Agricultural enterprises produce poultry and dairy products, karakul sheep,
and fish.  Navoi enterprises often operate well below capacity and local officials seek foreign
investment to modernize the region's economy.The Navoi Region currently has an ethnically diverse population of 7.6 million.  Navoi is located
on Central Asia's ancient silk road, along the Zerafshan River, between Samarkand and Bukhara.
Ninety percent of the region's 110,000 square kilometer territory is desert.Industry
The Kizilkum Cement Plant is the largest cement manufacturer in the NIS.  Seventy-five
percent of Kizilkum's output is sold in Uzbekistan, with the remaining 25 percent exported to
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran.  The plant's management
is especially interested in improving packaging of its finished product.The Navoiazot enterprise manufactures fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, household chemicals, and a
variety of other products.  Navoiazot can also produce as much as 24,000 tons of acrylic fiber
annually, although the plant's Soviet-era machinery does not produce fibers of international
market quality.  Another Navoi manufacturer, Electrokhimia, produces a wide variety of
pesticides and sprayers for pesticides.Mining and Quarrying
The Navoi region is rich in gold.  The Navoi Mining Kombinat processes more than 3 million
tons of ore per month, generating six tons of refined ore, 85 percent of which is gold.  Although
only 20 percent of the region's desert areas have been surveyed, numerous unexploited reserves
have been discovered.  Large mines are being developed at Nuratau by the Navoi Mining
Kombinat and Zarafshan-Newmont.There is also an abundance of marble in the Navoi Region, much of which is being processed by
plants using imported equipment.  Local firms turn out a wide variety of marble and other
decorative stones for use in building and other purposes.  Uzbekistan's current building boom and
the widespread use of marble in the construction industry create opportunities for U.S. exporters
of related equipment.Agribusiness
Navoi poultry producers are currently capable of producing 400,000 broiler chickens per year and
40 million eggs.  Actual production has been limited due to the poor quality of chicken feed. 
High-quality animal feed is in short supply in both the Navoi Region and in Uzbekistan in general. 
Navoi officials would like to convert part of a local bread factory into chicken feed and fish meal
production to ease this shortage.The region has more than 100,000 head of karakul sheep, although it does not possess the
technology to do more than basic processing of the pelts.  Local officials would like to have more
processing done in the region, although the huge Bukhara Karakul Processing Plant, where
Navoi pelts are now shipped, is only operating at 20 percent of capacity.  This article was based
on reporting from the American Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  For information on doing
business in the Navoi Region, visit BISNIS Online at
www.mac.doc.gov/bisnis/cables/970821uz.htm.John Breidenstine was Senior Commercial Officer at the American Embassy in Tashkent until
July 1997.  His successor is John C. Tucker.This report is provided courtesy of the Business Information Service for the Newly
Independent States (BISNIS)