Azernews.Az

By Gunay Hasanova

Uzbekistan will export around one million tons of fruit and vegetables by the end of the year, said Deputy Prime Minister Ulugbek Rozukulov at the first International fruit and vegetable fair, held in Tashkent on November 8.

"Following 10 months of 2016 Uzbekistan has exported about 700,000 tons of agricultural products, and to the end of the year this figure will reach one million tons," said Rozukulov.

Total exports of fruits and vegetables from Uzbekistan will increase by 1.4 times, he added.

The recent direct supplies to the Russian Federation and neighboring countries in the region have increased by 3 times, while exports were up by 5 times to South Korea, by 1.8 times to the UAE, and by 1.6 times Germany, he noted.

In addition, the deputy PM said that the geography of supplies has expanded in recent years through the countries such as Norway, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Cyprus, Macedonia and USA.

The agricultural sector of the republic produces around 16 million tons of fruits and vegetables a year.

Thus, 2.3 million tons of potatoes, 8.2 million tons of vegetables, 1.5 million tons of melon, more than 1.2 tons of grapes and two million tons of fruits and berries were cultivated in Uzbekistan in January-September of this year, according to the official statistics of the country.

The late President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov made an initiative to organize an annual international fair of fruit and vegetable.

Fair, to be organized in this framework, will become a new export platform, which will allow foreign purchasers directly interact with manufacturers and minimize the risks and logistics while buying fruits and vegetables from Uzbekistan.

The opening ceremony of the fair was attended by over 300 representatives of several international and regional organizations, and international institutions of development and cooperation.

The Uzbek economy experienced a mild deceleration in the year to September compared to the same period of 2015 but still grew at a healthy pace, according to official data. Growth was propelled primarily by construction works, retail sales and services, while industrial and agricultural production lagged somewhat behind.

The Government of Uzbekistan reported GDP growth at 7.8 percent in the first half of 2016, down from the 8.1 percent recorded in the same period of 2015, reflecting a weaker external environment and slower growth in industry.

In addition, agriculture expanded by 6.8 percent versus 6.5 percent a year earlier, reflecting higher production of fruit and vegetables.

The Asian Development Bank has allocated over $5 billion to Uzbekistan since 1995 to implement the projects in the spheres of education, agriculture, modernization of the transport infrastructure and energy sector.

Moreover, in April 2016, the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan agreed to expand bilateral trade in agricultural produce, prompting the government to announce a major horticulture development program.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

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