Publication Details
Abstract
This article examines the theoretical and practical aspects of using public procurement as an instrument to support local manufacturers, promote domestic industrial cooperation, and expand access of locally produced goods to the public procurement market. It analyzes the operation of Uzbekistan’s Electronic Cooperation Portal - new.cooperation.uz the mechanism requiring public customers to give prior consideration to products offered by local manufacturers, price preferences, guaranteed procurement and offtake agreements, incentives linked to localization, and recent regulatory reforms aimed at integrating industrial cooperation with public procurement. Empirically, the study draws on portal-based statistics showing that 56,580 contracts with a total value of UZS 8.826 trillion were concluded in January–July 2024. The study substantiates the need to transform support for local enterprises in public procurement from a predominantly price-preference model into an outcome-oriented local procurement policy based on local value added, competitiveness, product quality, contract performance, and import-substitution effects. The author proposes an “Import Substitution Opportunity Map,” a digital development profile for local manufacturers, a graduated guaranteed-procurement mechanism, and a Local Procurement Efficiency Index (MHSI). These instruments are intended to shift policy emphasis from short-term protection toward the systematic development of competitive domestic suppliers.