BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 10
By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:
Under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a video-conference on the organization of clusters in horticulture, improving the quality of harvesting and increasing the export of fruits and vegetables was held, Trend reports citing the presidential press service.
According to statistics, over 21 million tons of fruits and vegetables are grown in Uzbekistan per year, of which only 1.5 million tons are exported. This is explained by the fact that the share of products in demand and that are able to compete in the foreign market is low in the export structure. There is a low yield of orchards and vineyards. For example, abroad, 70-100 tons are obtained per hectare of intensive orchards, and up to 130 tons for some types of fruits, and in Uzbekistan this figure is 10-30 tons, and 4-5 tons in traditional orchards and vineyards.
Insufficient attention to marketing and market research hinders the manufacture of export-oriented products that meet the needs of potential customers.
Some 31 agrological centers for sorting, packaging, processing and exporting products have been organized in Uzbekistan. However, lack of working capital and interruptions in supply force most of them to work only during the season; their capacities are only 10-15 percent loaded.
The head of state noted that with all this in mind, it is necessary to establish a cluster system in horticulture. Attracting entrepreneurs with many years of experience in this field and infrastructure for the storage and processing of products should give good results.
Responsible persons are instructed to legally regulate relations between the product procurer and the cluster enterprise, to ensure the interests of these parties.
It was emphasized that the main task of the clusters should be the timely delivery of material resources and the payment of advance funds, updating low-efficient orchards and vineyards, and increasing yields.
The president paid special attention to the issue of providing clusters with working capital. Measures were identified for financial support for such associations at the beginning of their activity, including at the expense of the State Fund for Entrepreneurship Support.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade were instructed to take measures to diversify crops based on an in-depth analysis of the volume, types, quality and export potential of crops in each region.
The head of state noted that in this process the creation of high-yielding plantations on unused lands, on the site of unproductive orchards and vineyards, the cultivation and expansion of export of fruits and vegetables that meet the requirements of the foreign market are of paramount importance.
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