Uzbekistan to produce 8.2 million tons of fruits and vegetables

By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbekistan intends to produce 8.235 million tons of fruit and vegetable products in 2018.

This follows from a resolution “On Measures to Improve the Efficiency of the Use of Land Plots of Farms in the Area of Vegetable Growing, Melon Crops, Horticulture and Viticulture” issued by the government on April 3.

The document said that more than 99,270 hectares of land have been freed from sowing cotton and grain.

Most of these lands fell on the Syrdarya (20,143 ha), Surkhandarya (16,222 ha), Namangan (11,294 ha) and Kashkadarya (10,000 ha) regions.

About 1.32 million hectares of land will be used to grow 8.235 million tons of fruit and vegetable products.

In particular, Uzbekistan plans to grow 2.478 million tons of vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, carrots, cabbage, beets, garlic, bell peppers, capsicum, eggplants, greens, broccoli, etc.).

Also, in 2018 it is planned to produce about 808,000 tons of potatoes, 1.01 million tons of melons (melon, watermelon, pumpkin), 108.16 tons of legumes (mung beans, peas, peanuts) and 465,790 tons of rice.

In 2018, the country plans to produce 49,540 tons of oilseeds (soybean, sesame).

Earlier, Uzbekistan announced its plans to increase exports of fruits and vegetables by 30 percent up to 1.2 million tons this year.

Uzbekistan is a major exporter in the international fruit and vegetable market. The country ranks the second in the world for the export of apricots, persimmon - the third place and cherries - the fifth place.

The volume of exports of fruits and vegetables in 2017 from Uzbekistan amounted to $708.8 million, which is almost 15 percent more than in 2016.

Agreements on the supply of fruit and vegetable products for 2018 and 2019 were previously signed with South Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Indonesia, Germany and other countries.

Uzbekzokovaktholding earlier announced its plans to expand the geography of exports to the countries of Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North and Latin America.

The plans for 2018 also include creation of a network of logistics centers for further export, where the preparation, labeling and packaging of products will be carried out, introduction of advanced technologies in production and processing, and creation of a unified system for exporters of agricultural products.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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