BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 25
By Amina Nazarli - Trend:
Turkmen greenhouse tomatoes accounted for the lion's share of sales in Tajikistan's greenhouse vegetable market, Trend reports citing EastFruit.
Turkmenistan, which exported greenhouse tomatoes to Tajikistan for the first time in 2020, has surpassed Uzbekistan, which was previously the undisputed leader in greenhouse tomato exports to Tajikistan.
Moreover, Turkmenistan is also overtaking Uzbekistan in Russia's greenhouse tomato market. The country became the fourth among the suppliers of tomatoes to Russia, with more than 32,000 tons of this vegetable sent to Moscow and the Moscow Region, St. Petersburg and the Ural regions in January through November 2021.
All of this is made possible by the cheap gas available for heating greenhouses, which became increasingly important in ensuring the country's food security. Local Turkmen producers are actively increasing greenhouse vegetable production capacity and export supplies.
Turkmenistan exported 51,314 tons of tomatoes worth more than $56 million to foreign countries during the 11 months of 2021. During the reporting period, Turkmen tomatoes are mostly imported to Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and the UAE.
Turkmen entrepreneurs grow various productive varieties of tomatoes, including cherry tomatoes, rugantino, and fulton. Tomatoes in Turkmenistan are produced in greenhouse conditions all year round.
Currently, Turkmenistan is constructing 188 greenhouse complexes covering 1,792 hectares.
The vast majority of the greenhouse tomatoes are destined for export.