Improving apricot production and processing in Tajikistan expands its geography of supplies. Exports of dried apricots have reached 50,000 tons in just several years. These facts were announced by Lutfullo Ortikov, the founder of the fruit production company Fruits Valley, during the national online conference “Apricot business in Tajikistan: efficiency of production, processing and marketing.”

The event was organized by the EastFruit project with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The partner of the event was the agro-media agency Sapieza.

“Tajikistan is one of the largest suppliers of dried apricots in the world. There are many varieties of apricots in Tajikistan that are used for drying. We started exporting dried apricots not only to traditional markets but also to developed markets,” said Lutfullo Ortikov.

According to the Fruits Valley founder, apricots in Tajikistan are traditionally dried under the sun: “Not every farmer is ready to dry an apricot in nature in a clean area. It is not so easy to organize this process competently. Ideally, we work with our farmers and suppliers to train them in accordance with the requirements of clients in the EU and the United States.”

Exports of dried apricot products

“The main export volume is in industrial dried apricots (30-35%), which we sell in traditional markets in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Uryuk (dried apricots with kernels) are a small and usually second-grade variety (industrial apricot). They are bought for compote mixtures and makeup 20% of exports. Their sales markets are to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the United States, and China.

Kuraga (dried apricots without kernels and of extra quality made of the Babai variety) are exported in a more expensive category. They are similar to Turkish dried apricots. Their sales markets are in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the United States, Poland, and Germany.

Iranians buy sweet kuraga (with sugar inside) in large quantities before Ramadan. They use it in a sacred place,” said Mr Ortikov.

He added that apricot kernels are a promising product that could open up new markets. “We already have contracts with Germany and we have started to supply this product to Italy.”

Read also: Global prices for fresh and dried apricots consistently decreasing, quality requirements increasing

Product packaging for the EU

The Fruits Valley company supplies products to the EU in large packages. “We do not use packing because of certain nuances. They do not trust us so they do the packing themselves on the spot. We send products in boxes and in bags without labels or stickers. The EU asks for a lot of documentation on the availability of packaging materials for food use and must not use metal staples in boxes,” explained the founder.

Labelling and logistics

Lutfullo Ortikov also paid attention to the question about labelling. According to him, each country has its own labelling requirements for each specific product both per unit of goods and per pallet. For example, the labels on products sent to Ukraine must be translated into Ukrainian.

“Deliveries from Tajikistan to EU countries are carried out by land transport to the buyer’s warehouse. The cost of delivery to the EU is on average $4,000,” he said.

A final takeaway by Mr Ortikov during the conference was the importance of creating a transparent supply chain. The end consumer must know the background of the product such as how the product was grown at what intervals and with what drugs it was processed.

You can watch the video below for more information on Fruits Valley’s experience of exporting dried apricots to the EU and US markets:

Сообщение Dried apricots from Tajikistan to US and EU markets – the export experience появились сначала на EastFruit.

Kuraga (dried apricots) is affectionately being referred to as the alternative currency of Tajikistan by EastFruit journalists. Interest in unique Tajik dried fruits is constantly growing. The country’s abundance of sunshine forms very sweet apricots of local varieties and drying them under the same sun without using any artificial heat sources makes this product truly special.

Another rare feature of kuraga from Tajikistan is the incredible concentration of apricot orchards in just four regions of the country! There are so many orchards that there is simply nowhere to dry the harvested apricots. Thus, they are laid out on any free piece of land – construction sites, yards, orchard aisles. Sometimes they are drying on the roofs of houses!

The apricot drying process is a must-see versus reading about it 100 times so we suggest you watch EastFruit’s video about how apricots are grown, harvested, dried, transported, packaged and sold (with emotional bargaining) in the Sughd region of Tajikistan! You will learn how apricot sulphation is carried out; which apricots the locals choose; how kuraga, kaisa, apricot and bargak differ; how a family can earn $20,000 from apricots in one month and much more!

Below you can watch EastFruit’s video about dried apricots of Tajikistan:

By the way, locals also make good money from green apricots known “gura” in Tajikistan and “dovcha” or “dovuccha” in Uzbekistan. Also, despite the frost in late February, dovcha are already on sale in supermarkets of Uzbekistan. You can watch EastFruit’s video about green apricots below:

Сообщение Kuraga (dried apricots) from the orchards of Tajikistan to the largest dried fruit market появились сначала на EastFruit.

Warm weather and massive early apricot flowering occurred in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in February. However, the frosts that came on February 25-27 caused significant damage to orchards in the Central and Northern parts of Tajikistan there are above average losses in the orchards that had begun to bloom.

Bakhtiyor Abduvokhidov, an international consultant for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Tajikistan, said that wholesale prices from farmers for dried fruits such as the apricot varieties affected from the frosts have already risen by more than 50%. His announcement was during the national online conference “Apricot business in Tajikistan: efficiency of production, processing and marketing” held this past week.

The event was organized by the EastFruit project with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The partner of the event was the agro-media agency Sapienza.

“During February 25-27, temperatures in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan dropped to -10 degrees. In the southern regions of Tajikistan, apricots had already withered at the onset of cold weather. In this part of the country, this is normal because we have early apricots from South Khatlon already at the end of April. In central Tajikistan, massive flowering had noted during the frost period. In the north of the country, where 80% of the plantations are located, apricots bloomed in places but it was mostly swelling of the buds, the flowers had not bloomed.

The damage was suffered by orchards in the middle and northern parts of Tajikistan in particular the Bobodzhon-Gafurov and Asht districts where up to 40% of the orchards had already begun to bloom so the losses are above the national average,” Mr Abduvohidov said.

He went on to say that on average in Tajikistan, up to 30% of apricot orchards were affected. The remaining 70% are still in question because the flowering and pollination process is still ongoing. Also, mainly yellow apricot varieties were affected including mid-season varieties that are sold in the high price segment like dried fruits. Losses are noted for the Boboi and Mirsanchali varieties. According to the expert, the orange varieties are better preserved.

Bakhtiyor Abduvokhidov also pointed out that losses in regions across Uzbekistan are also quite significant: “Great damage is noted in the Bukhara region. Approximately 25-30% of early apricot varieties had blossomed at the time of the frost and of them, approximately, more than 80% will no longer be tied further.”

The apricot plantations in the Samarkand region also suffered great damage. “In this area, according to our estimates, about 50% of the future harvest of early varieties of fresh apricots have suffered,” said Bakhtiyor Abduvohidov.

Thankfully, farmers of the Fergana Valley noted that there were no blooms during the frosts so the damage was about 5%, which is included in the category of ordinary losses. In the south of Uzbekistan, losses were also within the normal range of 5-10%.

The FAO expert also added that spring frosts affected the price of dried fruits. In particular, the cost of those affected apricot varieties has already risen by more than 50%. “Wholesale prices for some varieties have risen by 100% and this jump is due to the fact that farmers do not want to sell their products. Wholesalers who have contracts to process and supply products do not have raw materials. Farmers have stopped sales and are waiting for prices to rise,” said the FAO expert. Bakhtiyor Abduvokhidov also stated that only after the next frost at the beginning of April, it will become known whether the price will go down or will rise.

“Traditionally, farmers conduct approbation and assessment of the future harvest in the first week of April. Then, contracts are concluded for the lease of apricot orchards so everyone is waiting to see how it will go,” Bakhtiyor Abduvohidov added.

Below is the video of Bakhtiyor Abduvokhidov’s presentation in Russian from last week’s conference:

Сообщение Spring frosts in Tajikistan provoke a rise in prices for dried fruits появились сначала на EastFruit.

World trade in dried apricots has been decreasing in monetary terms by 3.5% annually since 2011 but increasing by 0.5% in fresh apricots. This suggests that fresh apricots are in demand on the world market much more than dried. The trade volume in fresh apricots is much higher than dried apricots (kuraga). This data was presented yesterday by Andriy Yarmak, an economist of the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), during the national online conference “Apricot business in Tajikistan: efficiency of production, processing and marketing.”

The event was organized by the EastFruit project with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The partner of the event was the agro-media agency Sapieza.

“If we talk about the quantitative expression of world trade, then the volume of fresh apricots is growing by 5.7% annually. On the contrary, the trade of dried apricots is decreasing by 1.2% a year,” stressed Andriy Yarmak. He pointed out it is important to understand that there is no magic “best variety” that is most in-demand on the world market.

“The producer’s ability to extend the season is of much higher importance for successful trading. For example, in Italy, producers try to be present in the apricot market for 9 months of the year. This is the magic best variety, or rather the right set of many varieties when you are on the market almost all year round. Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have good apricot varieties from which it is simply necessary to choose the best and intensify their production.

“The varieties must be transportable and tasty. For example, there is a tendency by the markets of the EU countries to increase the demand for two-tone varieties, while the demand for reds and light varieties are decreasing.

“Thanks to the cultivation of apricots in greenhouses, you can get an earlier product of the highest quality, which, in turn, allows you to get a higher price,” said the FAO economist.

Mr Yarmak referenced data in his presentation that Turkey is the leader in the world trade of dried apricots and it is also the largest apricot producer in the world. “Tajikistan, according to EastFruit analysts, ranks 4th in the world in terms of apricot production although official data is much lower than EastFruit estimates. Thus, Tajikistan is even ahead of Spain in terms of apricot production, but it has very weak exports, especially in the fresh apricot segment. Uzbekistan has a good balance of exports of dried and fresh apricots, but this country also has not yet fully realized the full potential of exporting these goods.”

He also stressed that the exports of fresh apricots bring on average three times more revenue than the exports of dried apricots: “This confirms once again that the added value in the fruit and vegetable business is not processing. After all, a cheaper product is always used for processing.” The average prices for apricots and dried apricots have a steady downward trend. “The market needs a higher quality apricot at a lower price, which means that competition in the apricot business is growing,” warned Andriy Yarmak.

The leaders in the imports of apricots in the world are Russia, Germany, and Iraq. The fastest-growing supplies are to Iraq, Pakistan, and Germany. The traditional sales market for Tajikistan – the Russian Federation – very quickly reduced imports due to the growth of its own production plus the decrease in the incomes of its population.

Сообщение Global prices for fresh and dried apricots consistently decreasing, quality requirements increasing появились сначала на EastFruit.

In order to be successful in the world trade of apricots and dried apricots (kuraga), it is necessary to know the main universal factors of success in the market like any other fruit and vegetable product. These factors were discussed yesterday by Andriy Yarmak, an economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), during the national online conference “Apricot business in Tajikistan: efficiency of production, processing and marketing.”

The event was organized by the EastFruit project with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The partner of the event was the agro-media agency Sapieza.

Dried apricots are 11th in the ranking of Top-12 goods that are losing popularity in the world fruit and vegetable trade. What is the reason? As Andriy Yarmak notes, the first three places in rating success factors are quality.

“The first three most important factors are quality, quality, and quality. I noticed that many people in the countries of Central Asia and Eastern Europe misunderstand what quality means. This category must be considered from the point of view of the buyer. For wholesalers and supermarket chains, quality means, above all else, a problem-free product. A high-quality apricot is a fruit that a customer buys and returns to buy it again. To do this, the apricots should not only be tasty and beautiful, they should reach the buyer without losing their appearance and not spoiling for consumers. This is quality.

“Another equally important factor is the duration of deliveries. If you sell apricots for one week a year, then in the next week you will be forgotten. If you sell your product or range of products for a long time, then you are interesting to the buyers. In addition, it is equally important to guarantee a significant volume of supplies, which means that cooperation among producers is inevitable,” emphasizes Andriy Yarmak.

Another significant factor is the price. Mr Yarmak pointed out that this does not mean that it should be low. It is important to correctly determine the price of your product. “It shouldn’t be too high, but it’s also important not to sell too cheap. To do this, it is worth getting access to market information. Thanks to the EastFruit platform, this information is available today – all that is required from producers is to start using it. Additionally, the largest international trade group was also created by the EastFruit team where you can get not only information about prices and trends but also find buyers for your products,” stressed the FAO economist.

Mr Yarmak also drove home the importance of producers needing to invest in marketing. “Unfortunately, products do not sell themselves. There are no shortages of apricots in the world so it is important to promote your product by investing in marketing, sales, and public relations. In addition, the reputation of the producer is important, which is very difficult to win and very easy to lose,” cautions Andriy Yarmak to the attention of the conference participants.

It is not enough to sell just once; producers need to provide a service to the buyers. “For example, very often sellers lose contact with buyers immediately after the product’s sale. I highly recommend sellers to call after a certain amount of time and clarify the results of their trade with buyers. It is very useful for sellers to understand whether their product was successfully sold and whether they need to make any changes in the future. This outreach is also appreciated by buyers who are more likely to return to you in the future because you were interested in their problems and not just your own,” notes Andriy Yarmak.

The FAO economist clarified another very important point – the need to exceed expectations, at least by 10%. “Always try to do at least 10% more than the client requires; this is the key to success in any business.”

Be sure to watch the video about how apricots are grown, harvested, dried, and sold in Tajikistan on our EastFruit YouTube channel!

Сообщение Dried apricots among world’s top-12 produce items losing popularity – how to successfully sell dried and fresh apricots? появились сначала на EastFruit.