Turkish investment group OYAK is preparing to open a $75 million agricultural chemicals plant in Uzbekistan in 2027, turning a bilateral industrial partnership into a platform intended to serve the wider Central Asian market. The project matters beyond its immediate production capacity. It combines Turkish operating expertise, Uzbek institutional participation and Omani capital, while testing whether Uzbekistan can convert rapid investment growth and agricultural reform into a competitive regional manufacturing base.
A Three-Country Investment Structure
Anadolu Agency reported on November 3 that the Hektaş Asia facility will be located in the Uzbek-Turkish Organized Industrial Zone in the Tashkent region. It is expected to manufacture advanced crop-protection products and other agricultural chemicals under a partnership between Hektaş, its Turkish parent group OYAK and UzOman Investment Company.
UzOman disclosed more detail when the investment agreement was announced in February 2026. The company put the project’s planned cost at approximately $75 million, comprising about $50 million from Hektaş as the strategic and operating partner and up to $25 million from UzOman as a minority shareholder.
UzOman itself is a joint investment platform established by the Oman Investment Authority and the Uzbek government. Hektaş, founded in 1956 and majority-owned by OYAK, specializes in crop-protection products, fertilizers and seeds. OYAK is Turkey’s largest complementary pension fund and operates as a diversified industrial investor.
This ownership structure is important. Rather than relying exclusively on bilateral Turkish-Uzbek financing, the project brings in a third-country sovereign investor with its own food-security objectives. UzOman said Uzbekistan is regarded as a potential source of fruit and vegetables for Oman, meaning the plant’s rationale extends from selling agricultural inputs to strengthening an international food supply chain.
Planned production includes herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, other crop-protection formulations and organomineral fertilizers. The complex is also expected to contain formulation and packaging lines, quality-control laboratories and environmental systems designed around international standards.
OYAK Chief Executive Murat Yalçıntaş told Anadolu Agency that the investment aims to increase local production, improve regional food-supply security and support Uzbekistan’s ambition to become an export hub for Central Asia. That ambition will depend on more than completing construction. Product registration, safe chemical handling, farmer adoption and access to neighboring markets will ultimately determine whether the plant functions as a regional hub or primarily as an import-substitution facility.
Why Uzbekistan’s Agricultural Market Is Attractive
Uzbekistan offers a large agricultural base, a population of more than 37 million and access to markets across Central Asia. The country’s Investment Promotion Agency estimates that agriculture accounted for approximately 18.9 percent of gross domestic product in 2025, while nearly 49 percent of the population lived in rural areas. It reported a grain harvest exceeding 10.1 million tonnes and agricultural exports of about $1.5 billion that year.
The World Bank uses a broader measure and says agriculture represents roughly one-quarter of both economic output and employment. The difference reflects varying definitions and reference periods, but both estimates demonstrate the sector’s systemic importance.
For an agricultural-input producer, this creates a substantial addressable market. Uzbekistan grows wheat, cotton, fruit, vegetables, grapes and other crops that require different protection products, fertilizer applications and agronomic support. Localization can reduce shipping times, provide packaging suited to domestic farm sizes and allow formulations to be adapted to local soils, pests and climate conditions.
Domestic production could also reduce reliance on imported inputs at a time when currency movements, freight disruption and geopolitical instability can affect farm costs. Yet local manufacturing does not eliminate external exposure. Active chemical ingredients, specialized machinery and laboratory equipment may still need to be imported. A credible feasibility study must therefore separate genuine local value creation from the domestic blending or packaging of imported components.
The government is actively seeking capital for this transition. Invest Uzbekistan says the Agriculture Development Strategy for 2020 to 2030 is intended to liberalize markets, raise productivity and improve environmental resilience. It also reports that the Ministry of Agriculture initiated projects worth $988.5 million in 2025 as part of a broader investment pipeline targeting more than $5 billion.
Hektaş is not entering an empty field. In January 2026, Uzbekistan’s state news agency UzA reported that Agriculture Minister Ibrokhim Abdurakhmanov had discussed projects with several Turkish companies involving agricultural machinery, seed production, seedlings and greenhouse complexes. The government’s project pipeline also includes food processing, cold-chain preparation, hydroponic greenhouses and export-oriented fruit and vegetable facilities.
This clustering can support demand for Hektaş products, but it also raises execution risks. New supply must be matched by commercial distribution, farmer finance, technical education and measurable improvements in crop yields. Otherwise, investment in production capacity may run ahead of effective demand.
Turkish Capital Is Building a Larger Uzbek Platform
The plant fits into a sharp expansion of Turkish commercial activity in Uzbekistan. Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that Turkish investment in the country, including capital routed through third countries, had reached approximately $5.6 billion by 2025. It also counts close to 2,000 Turkish-capital enterprises operating in sectors including energy, textiles, construction and manufacturing.
Uzbek government figures are higher on some measures because they include different categories of investment and lending. An Uzbek diplomatic report published in 2026 said direct investment and loans from Turkey totaled $9 billion between 2017 and 2025, including $2.6 billion attracted during 2025. It counted 2,137 enterprises with Turkish capital as of January 1, 2026, of which 1,641 were wholly Turkish-owned.
These variations underline the need for caution when comparing headline investment statistics. Nonetheless, the direction is clear. A 2026 Uzbek government briefing said utilized Turkish investment reached $3.1 billion in 2025, 4.5 times the level five years earlier, while approximately $10 billion of Turkish-backed projects were under implementation across energy, geology, building materials, agriculture and healthcare.
Trade provides an existing commercial foundation. Turkish Foreign Ministry data put bilateral merchandise trade at approximately $3.09 billion in 2025, consisting of $2.05 billion in Turkish exports and $1.04 billion in imports from Uzbekistan. Machinery, chemicals and industrial goods already dominate Turkish sales, making agricultural chemicals an extension of an established supply relationship.
In May 2025, Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz agreed to work toward bilateral trade of $5 billion in the short term and $10 billion over the medium term. In October 2026, the two governments established a Türkiye-Uzbekistan Business and Investment Council to accelerate private-sector projects and institutional coordination.
The Hektaş investment therefore reflects a broader shift from exporting Turkish manufactured goods to producing them inside Uzbekistan. This can create stronger local relationships and reduce certain logistics costs, but it also exposes the investor more directly to Uzbek licensing, tax administration, utilities, labor rules and environmental enforcement.
Incentives Are Material, but Eligibility Must Be Engineered
Uzbekistan’s headline tax environment is relatively straightforward. The Investment Promotion Agency lists a standard corporate income tax rate of 15 percent, value-added tax of 12 percent and a 10 percent withholding rate on dividends paid to foreign shareholders, subject to possible treaty reductions.
Location and project classification can materially change the effective burden. Free economic zone participants may receive property and land tax exemptions for three to ten years, depending on investment size. Qualifying export-oriented manufacturers can also obtain customs relief on approved imported equipment, VAT deferral and accelerated VAT refunds.
A $75 million industrial project would exceed the highest published investment threshold, but benefits are not automatic merely because the capital commitment is large. Investors must verify whether the industrial zone has formal free-zone status, whether each production line qualifies, which machinery appears on approved customs lists and whether benefits attach to the operating company or the specific project.
Chemical production brings a separate compliance layer. Crop-protection products generally require registration supported by efficacy, toxicology and environmental documentation. The facility must also manage hazardous-material storage, worker safety, wastewater, emissions, labeling and disposal. Exporting across Central Asia can require additional registrations in every destination market, even when products are manufactured under a common international standard.
Land rights need equal attention. Uzbekistan’s Investment Promotion Agency states that foreign investors cannot own land. Since May 1, 2026, they also cannot directly lease agricultural land or participate in auctions for it, although certain subleasing structures remain available. An industrial chemical plant does not necessarily require agricultural land, but investors developing demonstration farms, seed operations or integrated cultivation projects must structure land access carefully.
These issues make company incorporation and corporate structuring more than administrative exercises. The allocation of intellectual property, manufacturing licenses, shareholder funding, dividends and imported inputs between Turkish, Omani and Uzbek entities will affect tax exposure and operational control. Legal and tax compliance, investment-incentive verification and government relations must be coordinated before equipment orders and construction commitments become irreversible.
Water, Logistics and Environmental Risk Will Shape Returns
Uzbekistan’s agricultural opportunity is inseparable from water scarcity. In May 2025, the World Bank approved a $200 million concessional credit for irrigation modernization, alongside $23.2 million in Uzbek government co-financing. The bank said agriculture consumes about 90 percent of national water resources and warned that climate pressures could reduce water availability by 30 to 40 percent while increasing irrigation demand by 25 percent.
Approximately 2.4 million hectares, or 56 percent of the country’s irrigated land, depend on pumping. The World Bank estimates that 1,700 irrigation pumping stations consume about 7.2 billion kilowatt-hours annually, equal to 16 percent of Uzbekistan’s electricity use.
For Hektaş, these figures create both demand and responsibility. Products that raise yields or improve nutrient efficiency may become more valuable as water constraints intensify. Conversely, inappropriate chemical use can worsen soil degradation, contaminate water and weaken the project’s environmental case. International investors will need evidence-based stewardship programs, traceability and monitoring rather than relying solely on formal permit compliance.
Logistics present another test. Uzbekistan is double-landlocked, so regional exports depend on multiple border crossings, rail connections and customs systems. Chemical products may face hazardous-goods transport requirements that are stricter than those applied to ordinary manufactured goods. Import-export facilitation must therefore cover tariff classification, certificates of origin, transit permits, sanctions screening and rules under Turkey-Uzbekistan preferential trade arrangements.
What This Means for Foreign Investors
The Hektaş Asia project shows that Uzbekistan is increasingly capable of attracting multi-country industrial capital rather than only bilateral loans or trading ventures. Its combination of local demand, state-backed investment platforms, fiscal incentives and access to Central Asian markets is compelling, but the investment case remains execution-intensive.
Foreign investors considering similar projects should begin with market-entry analysis that tests local demand by crop, region and customer type. Incorporation and corporate structuring should then align ownership, intellectual property, financing and profit repatriation with Uzbek law and relevant tax treaties. Incentive work must confirm eligibility in writing, including zone status, customs treatment and the obligations attached to exemptions.
Legal and tax compliance requires product registrations, environmental approvals, labor procedures and ongoing reporting. Government relations are important for coordinating with ministries, regional administrations, industrial-zone operators and utility providers, but they should be supported by clear documentation and measurable project commitments.
Trade-fair and expo representation can help test distributor and farmer interest before capacity is expanded. Import-export planning must map raw-material sourcing and regional product approvals, while project management must integrate construction, utilities, laboratory commissioning and environmental controls.
For an advisory firm such as fdiconsultancy.com, the practical lesson is equally relevant to investors entering Turkey. Attractive growth figures and political support are only the opening conditions. Successful FDI depends on translating policy into a legally sound entity, secured incentives, compliant operations and an executable route from the factory gate to the customer.