Foreigners take away means of subsistence from local entrepreneurs. The Chairwoman of the Women’s League of Kyrgyzstan, head of SELYA group of companies Asel Atabekova stated at a press conference, commenting on the conflict between Kyrgyz and foreign businessmen in the light industry.
Earlier, citizens of Tajikistan, who are engaged in manufacture and export of clothing, held a rally near Madina market in Bishkek. They told about threats and harassment by workers in the large market.
According to Asel Atabekova, local entrepreneurs engaged in the textile industry previously exported their products directly to Russia and Kazakhstan.
«However, external aggressors have entered the market under the guise of investors in person of foreign citizens. They buy a large batch of textile materials, make their goods and send them to neighboring countries. Meanwhile, our local garment workers, market workers are left with nothing. They take away means of subsistence from our citizens. They do not create jobs and do not pay taxes as investors,» she said.
Asel Atabekova added that Kyrgyz small entrepreneurs work on the basis of a license.
«Foreign citizens who have entered the market call themselves investors and are engaged in big business. But they, like small merchants, work on the basis of a license. If they are investors, we urge them to conduct business legally. Let them pay VAT, taxes, keep records and work openly. The authorities should revise the rules of doing business for foreign businessmen in the textile industry, control them,» she said.
An entrepreneur Venera Kalybaeva said that foreign citizens make poor-quality goods under the Kyrgyz brand and spoil the image of the country’s textile industry by exporting them abroad.
