TASHKENT: Uzbekistan signed 270 contracts on the export of fruits and vegetables worth more than $2 billion during the first international fruit and vegetable fair in Tashkent on July 12-16. Uzbekoziqovqatholding said that some 27 percent of the total volume of products for exports will account for vegetables, 25 percent – grapes, 20 percent – fruits, 17.6 percent – dried and processed products, 8.4 percent – legumes, two percent – melons. More than 170 companies from all regions of Uzbekistan presented fruits and vegetables at the fair.
Over 300 representatives of business circles from the US, UK, UAE, South Korea, Japan, Italy, France, Malaysia, India, Russia, Latvia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and other countries also participated in the fair. The fair was organized in accordance with Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s decree signed in early June 2016.
As of 2015, the volume of fruit and vegetable production in Uzbekistan increased by 6.7 percent up to 12.6 million tons, melons and gourds – by 5.9 percent up to 1.8 million tons, grapes – by 11.4 percent up to 1.56 million tons. According to the Uzbek side, some 1.2 million tons of fruits and vegetables are planned to be exported in 2016, which is 2.5 times more compared to 2015.
