As of October 1, 2026, there were 66 thousand industrial enterprises operating in Uzbekistan. The most in-demand sector turned out to be food production, which covers every fifth registered company.
According to information from the National Committee on Statistics, the distribution of industrial facilities across main sectors is as follows: food production includes 13.3 thousand enterprises (accounting for 20.2%); next are enterprises producing other non-metallic mineral products—9.2 thousand (13.9%); clothing accounts for 6.8 thousand (10.3%); finished metal products number 5.4 thousand (8.2%); furniture has 4.5 thousand (6.9%); textile products—4 thousand (6.1%); and rubber and plastic products—3 thousand (4.6%).
The reason for the dominance of food production lies in the high demand for food. Previously, citing data from the US Department of Agriculture, it was noted that food accounts for 44.8% of the total consumer spending of Uzbek citizens.
For comparison, in Kazakhstan, the share of food expenses is 41.7%, in Belarus—30.6%, and in Russia—25.7%. Meanwhile, the highest share of food expenditure is recorded in Nigeria, which reaches 59.2%.
