Uzbekistan has annulled the VAT on the import of vegetable oil, sunflower and flax seeds as well as soybeans from May 1 till the end of this year following an increase in prices on the domestic market.

Production and sales of the vegetable oil, have also been exempted from VAT for the same period, except for cottonseed oil.

The move was initiated by the country’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The president’s order envisages some restrictions for the export of sunflower and cottonseed oil, as well as their seeds by introducing export duties on them till the end of the year.

The price for sunflower oil on Uzbekistan’s commodities exchange has grown by 28 percent since the beginning of the year, according to the Republican Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange.

The country’s demand for vegetable oil is around 460 thousand tonnes annually, half of which is covered by imports.

Uzbekistan imports vegetable oil mostly from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.