President of Uzbekistan stressed the need to develop the transport and logistics system and diversify foreign trade routes at a meeting on 11 January, his press service said.

The country currently has 2,368 international freight carriers, a sharp increase from 994 in 2020. Over the past four years, the domestic carrier fleet grew from 10,552 to 25,538 vehicles, with their share in international transportation increasing from 35% to 60%.

However, global geopolitical tensions posed challenges to the sector. Delivery times for westbound cargo have doubled, and costs have surged 1.5 times. Some border checkpoints in Europe are closed, while others face long delays.

To address these issues, measures will be taken to simplify and facilitate transit cargo shipments via alternative routes to international and regional markets, including mutual reductions or eliminations of border fees.

Uzbekistan’s freight forwarding market, connecting shippers and carriers, is valued at $520 million, with 90% dominated by foreign companies.

To support local forwarders, VAT on their services in international transport will no longer apply. This is expected to boost their market share from 15% in 2025 to 45−50% by 2026.

The head of the state set a target to double the volume of international freight and increase transport service exports to $3 billion.

Additionally, transit shipments through Uzbekistan are set to expand. The country rose from 118th place in the World Bank Logistics Index in 2016 to 88th in 2023, with a goal to reach at least 55th place by 2030.

Responsible agencies were tasked to attract more foreign cargo flows by introducing an electronic queue system, cutting border crossing times from 40 to 20 minutes and implementing online vehicle monitoring.

Uzbekistan ended state subsidies for exporters' transportation costs from 2025 to meet WTO requirements. In 2024, subsidies amounted to 133.8 billion soums ($10.26 million), down from 509.9 billion soums ($39.12 million) in 2023.