The russian chain of low-price retail stores Dobrocen, which entered the Uzbek market just 3.5 months ago, announced the temporary closure of its stores in Uzbekistan, EastFruit experts report, citing Telegram channels of the chain’s outlets.

To date, the russian chain “Dobrocen” has 5 stores in Uzbekistan – in the cities of Tashkent, Bukhara, Karshi and Margilan. Liquidation of goods in these stores has started on March 30, 2022 and they will be sold at half price.

The photo shows the announcement about the closure of stores in Uzbekistan, posted on the Telegram channel “Dobrocen” Karshi store. It states “50% discount on all goods from 30/03/22 to 28/04/22” (translated from Uzbek).

According to the Qashqadaryo 24/7 Telegram channel, the reason for the closure of stores is “unfavorable situation in russia”, they may reopen, but it is unknown when. The same reason for closing stores is indicated in the Dobrocen Margilan Telegram channel. However, while in the first case the resumption of the work of the Dobrocen stores is said to be possible, the second source writes about the temporary suspension of the activities of the store in Margilan for 2-3 months.

We remind you that the plans of the Dobrocen chain to enter the Uzbek market were announced in October 2021. On December 18, 2021, the first Dobrocen store in Uzbekistan opened its doors in the city of Bukhara, where more than 1 500 items of food, household chemicals and non-food products were presented. On December 25, 2021, the russian chain opened three more stores in other cities of Uzbekistan – in Tashkent, Karshi and Margilan, and then one more in Margilan. Thus, the number of Dobrocen stores in Uzbekistan has reached 5.

As of December 2021, the russian retail chain Dobrocen had 500 stores. The Dobrocen chain abroad is present in four countries: in 2019 it opened its first store in Belarus, at the end of April 2021 in Kazakhstan, in December 2021 in Uzbekistan and Armenia.

A feature of the Dobrocen retail chain is its format of a store-warehouse without division between the trading area and storage, with the display of goods not on shelves, but directly on pallets. The retailer’s assortment includes about 1 200 items of the most popular high-quality food products and everyday household goods at the lowest possible prices.

Сообщение Russian discounter Dobrocen closes its stores in Uzbekistan появились сначала на EastFruit.

The first are became available in the supermarkets of the capital of Uzbekistan. So far, the novelty of the season is offered only in two stores of the Korzinka supermarket chain at 9 990 UZS per 100 grams, which corresponds to $9.2/kg, EastFruit experts report.

Recall that “dovcha” is a green apricot, which is a favorite snack in Central Asian countries and a very healthy fruit. In neighboring Tajikistan, it is called “gura”. This is the first fruit of the new harvest, the availability of which on the market marks the start of a new season.

Watch also: Gura, dovcha or green apricot – the earliest fruit of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

EastFruit specialists draw attention to the following two facts related to the appearance of dovcha in supermarkets: firstly, the fruits in 2022 appeared about 5-6 days earlier than in 2021. Secondly, the first dovcha in 2022 is offered 1.5-2 times cheaper than on the 10th of March 2021. As of March 11, 2021, retail prices for dovcha in the stores of the capital of Uzbekistan ranged from 15 000 to 22 000 UZS per 100 grams, which corresponded to $14-22/kg.

Just like at the beginning of March 2021, when the first dovcha became available in the supermarkets of Uzbekistan, EastFruit specialists again question its origin. An operational survey of farmers growing apricots in the southernmost regions of Uzbekistan showed that green apricots that could be offered to the market have not yet formed. Therefore, this time dovcha in the supermarkets of the capital of Uzbekistan is, most likely, imported, or grown indoors in the southern regions. However, nothing is known about greenhouse apricot projects in Uzbekistan either.

Сообщение The first dovcha are available in the supermarkets of Uzbekistan появились сначала на EastFruit.

The Amid Trade and Service Center became operative in the city of Khujand (Sughd region, Tajikistan), on February 10, 2022.

The Amid Trade and Service Center was established on the basis of a facility that has not been used for more than 15 years and has fallen into disrepair, President.tj reports.

The center was built by a Tajik entrepreneur – the head of the company “Amid” Saidamon Isomaddinov.

With the launch of the center, more than 100 local residents are provided with jobs, about 80 of them are women.

The Amid Trade and Service Center is built on an area of ​​2500 sq. m with a modern design and unique style. There are retail outlets of various goods, including food, household appliances, a workshop for the production of sausages, dairy products, salads, a tortilla shop, modern outlets of confectionery, fast food, a cafe and a pharmacy.

The shopping center mainly offers products of Tajik enterprises, including meat, dairy, confectionery, various drinks, vegetables and fruits.

Warehouses have been built in the center, allowing to store the necessary products and provide them to customers in a timely manner.

Сообщение Amid Trade and Service Center opened in Khujand (Tajikistan) появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit analysts, there are more Uzbek fruits available this year in ethnic supermarkets in Germany targeting mainly immigrants from the former USSR and socialist bloc countries.

Obviously, the “Uzbek fruit” brand is still relevant for former Soviet consumers, because the fruits are sold well, despite their higher price than for those from the EU countries.

In particular, at the end of August, in the Mix Markt supermarket, Uzbek melons were sold at 1.29 euros per kg, which is equivalent to 16,200 sums per kg. At the moment, the wholesale price for melons in Uzbekistan, according to the EastFruit wholesale price monitoring, averages 1900 sums per kg or 15 euro cents per kg. However, about 40 eurocents is needed to deliver the melon to Germany, and another 20 cents per kg for packaging. Therefore, the cost of melons delivered to Germany, excluding the exporter’s markup, is now at least 75 eurocents per kg. Accordingly, the supermarket markup in this case is small, since the margins of the EU supermarkets are much higher than in Uzbekistan and the CIS countries due to higher labor and real estate costs.

Read also: Watermelon prices in Uzbekistan increased 44% in just two weeks affecting exports

Table grapes from Uzbekistan are also sold in German supermarkets. Despite the varieties not being indicated on the price tags, apparently, there are two most popular Uzbek varieties on sale: Khusayne white and Kishmish Kora Black. “Husayne White” is sold in Germany at 4.49 euros per kg (56,350 sums per kg). It is prized mainly for the shape of the fruit, but it has seeds. “Kishmish Kora” is a seedless variety, sold 1 euro cheaper – at 3.49 euros per kg (43,800 sums per kg).

Both grape varieties in Uzbekistan are currently sold in bulk at 9-12 thousand sums. Growers can get even 15 thousand sums for premium quality grapes. It means these varieties can be bought in Uzbekistan at prices ranging from 72 eurocents per kg to 1.2 euros per kg.

Note that in 2020, Uzbekistan has already exported both melons and table grapes to Germany. 500 tons of melons and 17 tons of table grapes were exported during the season. Of course, the volumes are not large comparing to the total export volume of both goods from Uzbekistan. They are sold mainly in ethnic stores, because is difficult to compete with Spanish, Greek and Italian products in terms of price and quality in conventional supermarket chains in Germany.

However, even such volumes of melons and grapes exported annually to Germany is a breakthrough, since not only immigrants from the former USSR make purchases in ethnic stores, but also other residents of Germany, who get acquainted with Uzbek fruits and can appreciate their taste.

Сообщение Uzbek melons and table grapes in German supermarkets появились сначала на EastFruit.

In the second decade of April tomatoes from AgroHub’s own greenhouse will be available in the Georgian hypermarket chain AgroHub, which is known for a wide range of farm products.

As the director of AgroHub George Dzhashiashvili told EastFruit, the first harvest of tomatoes begins in 7-10 days in the first 2 thousand square meters of greenhouses. The total area of ​​the greenhouse located in the Natakhtari village (Mtskhet-Mtianeti region, Eastern Georgia) is 1 hectare.

“The idea of ​​investing in a greenhouse derived from a constant lack of local fruit and vegetable products in Georgia out of season, especially in winter, and imported products often being of rather low quality. We want to offer high-quality, environmentally friendly vegetables and berries, free of pesticides and other chemicals, grown in Georgia to customers of our hypermarkets. At this stage, as a test, we have planted tomatoes on 2 thousand square meters, we will start harvesting the first crop in about 7-10 days (harvesting, according to our calculations, will last about 2.5 months). By the fall, we plan to farm the entire area of ​​the greenhouse – we will plant cucumbers, strawberries, and other crops that we will select considering specific soil and climatic conditions and consumer demand. We want to plan it to ensure the greenhouse’s continuous operation throughout the year.

The company is currently deciding whether the first harvest of AgroHub tomatoes will be sold in retail packages or by weight (both options are possible at the same time).

If this project is successfully implemented, the company will probably expand its greenhouse facilities in the future, – director Georgy Dzhashiashvili said.

AgroHub LLC was established in 2015. The company has implemented the ISO 22000 standard. Today, the AgroHub hypermarket has 3 stores, 2 of which are located in Tbilisi and 1 in Batumi. In addition, AgroHub is developing its own production facilities, which include a winery and an organic dairy.

Сообщение Georgian supermarket AgroHub is growing its own tomatoes in its own modern greenhouse появились сначала на EastFruit.

Since November 2020, the EastFruit team has decided for the first time to pay attention during our retail audits to two world bestsellers in recent years – kiwis and avocados. According to experts, avocados have already surpassed oranges in terms of world trade volume and occupy a high seventh place in the ranking of the most popular vegetables and fruits in international trade.

Avocados now account for about 3% of the world fruit and vegetable trade, and their exports are growing annually faster than any other fruit, berry, vegetable, or nut products at an average of $783 million per year, which is 12% every year! The annual volume of world trade in kiwis is also growing very quickly at 7% per year (for fresh berries) or by $200 million per year!

Despite the fact that kiwis and avocados are not yet as popular in Central Asia as in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, their popularity in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan continues to grow.

In Tajikistan, kiwis are more of a table decoration than fruit for daily consumption. A detailed analysis of the kiwi market in Tajikistan can be found here.

During the audit of retail chains in Tajikistan in March 2021, we saw that kiwis were in nearly all stores in Dushanbe and Khujand. Avocados were sold in at least four supermarket chains in the city of Khujand (Amid, Oasis, and Anis chains). However, avocados were completely absent in supermarkets in Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan.

Read also: Amid and Paikar are leaders in the EastFruit rating in Tajikistan based on the audit of fruit and vegetable departments in March 2021

In previous articles, we point out that not all buyers know and have ever tasted avocados. This fruit is sold per piece; prices are set for 1 fruit. In terms of 1 kg, avocados are sold at prices ranging from $9.00 to $11.50 per kg!

Avocado prices have dropped compared to November prices. The colour of avocados sold on supermarket shelves in Tajikistan ranged from dark green to brown. There were also dark-speckled green fruits.

Kiwi prices in Khujand and Dushanbe were approximately the same and this fruit was much more affordable for the consumer. The average retail price for kiwis in Dushanbe supermarkets was $2.34 per kg, while in Khujand supermarkets this fruit cost an average of $2.38 per kg.

Сообщение In Tajikistan, avocados and kiwis are in supermarkets in Khujand, no avocados in Dushanbe появились сначала на EastFruit.

During the next retail audit of supermarket produce departments, EastFruit analysts draw attention to the fact that many consumers in Uzbekistan believe that fruits and vegetables can be bought much cheaper at a bazaar or stall than in a supermarket. We decided to test this hypothesis and found some very unexpected pricing features that we wanted to share:

Feature 1: There are no price tags for vegetables and fruits in bazaars or stalls in Uzbekistan. For those, the price can only be obtained by asking the seller. Thus, the process of selling products here is slow compared to a supermarket so it seems that trade is going very well. After all, someone is almost always waiting for their turn to find out a price. This first feature gives the deceptive impression of high demand. Whereas in a supermarket, a person knows the price, simply takes the product and moves on.

Read about the specifics of the fruit and vegetable trade in supermarkets in Uzbekistan in EastFruit’s interview with Makro CEO Roman Sayfulin

Feature 2: This most interesting feature appeared immediately. After observing the sellers, we found that the seller often names different prices depending on who asks. Therefore, the first surprise is that there are no prices listed for produce in the bazaar or stall and then the price depends on the personality of the buyer. Let’s remind that in the supermarket the prices for the products are fixed and known by all.

Feature 3: Each seller has his or her own pricing strategy so the divergence in named prices can range from 10% to 20% or more! Thus, the same product in the same place can be relatively cheap and very expensive. One gets the impression that the seller evaluates each customer in terms of appearance and behaviour then estimates how much they can really pay. Again, there is nothing like this in the supermarket – the price is the same for everyone.

Read also: Carrefour in Uzbekistan strikes a blow to the prices of vegetables and fruits

Feature 4: This pricing feature is well known in Uzbekistan. It attracts some but repels others. It is the fact that you can bargain at the bazaar. Almost as much as those who like to bargain, others do not.

Feature 5: Sometimes products are sold on credit at stalls and in bazaars, which is an advantage over supermarkets for poor segments of the population.

Feature 6: If you seem to the seller as a person with a low-income level and you bargain well, most likely you will be able to buy local products cheaper than in a supermarket, but imported products of comparable quality are usually more expensive anyway. This is due to the fact that sellers in bazaars and stalls do not pay VAT, which gives them a significant advantage in local goods. When importing, VAT is levied immediately and, unlike traders in the bazaar, supermarkets that are VAT payers can return the input VAT so here they already have an advantage over the bazaars.

Why imported vegetables and fruits are cheaper in supermarkets – watch our interview with Makro CEO Roman Sayfulin

Feature 7: There is a wide range of local products in the bazaars. It is difficult to find such an extensive assortment of local products in stores for every taste and every wallet. Yet, imported assortments will be comparable.

Feature 8:  This feature is the most unpleasant in the opinion of Uzbek consumers – cheating at the bazaars. Often the weighing scales are not calibrated accurately and customers are charged a heavier weight than the actual weight of the produce. Also, low-quality fruits and vegetables get placed in the bag because it is collected by the seller. Whereas in the supermarket, cheating with scales does not exist and the desired product’s quality is selected by the consumer directly.

The above features fully explain why traditional bazaars are now losing the competition to supermarkets in Uzbekistan. The wealthiest segments of the population who simply do not have time to walk around the market, wait for their turn, bargain for each product, and pay more for imported vegetables and fruits (which dominate the market in winter), will choose supermarkets and convenience stores. Yet, it is this category of customers that provides the main revenue. One high-income customer often generates more profit than 10 low-income customers. In addition, they do not need goods on credit and they are willing to pay for additional conveniences such as more comfortable shopping conditions as well as guaranteed quality awareness and lack of cheating. A demanding and wealthy customer in Uzbekistan can spend less time and less money by purchasing the necessary range of vegetables and fruits in more comfortable conditions. Also, this is without taking into account the cost of their time, which is quite expensive for working people. With an income of even 5 million soums a month (about $500), the cost of one hour is about 30,000 soums.

On the other hand, a poor customer who has plenty of free time, most likely with the right amount of luck, can save money if he wants to buy locally produced vegetables and fruits at the bazaar and not in the supermarket. The likelihood of saving on the market in winter will be lower than in summer when there are many vegetables, fruits, and potatoes grown in Uzbekistan and few imported products.

Сообщение Are prices higher for fruits and vegetables at bazaars or supermarkets in Uzbekistan? The answer will surprise! появились сначала на EastFruit.

Is the domestic apple market in Moldova worthy of the attention of Moldovan traders? At first glance, this question is not meant to be rhetorical or even provocative. Reality is always complex and diverse. EastFruit analysts tried to give an objective answer to summarizing the facts and opinions.

The capacity of the Moldovan dessert apple market was estimated by experts from local agricultural producers associations in the past decade at 40,000-50,000 tons. In some years of this period taking into account active labour migration, the population of the country changed. Also, apple production fluctuated widely from 308,000 tons in 2015 to 665,000 tons in 2018. Both of these factors apparently influenced the supply and demand for fruit in the domestic market. However, according to market operators, this has not been converted into an increase or decrease in the sales volume of apples in Moldova, plus or minus 5,000-7,000 tons per year. Unfortunately, there is no more accurate (statistical) information on the level of sales and consumption of dessert apples by the population in the public domain.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, fruit consumption was 54 kg per capita in Moldova last year. It can be assumed that apples account for at least half of this production.

One way or another, one could assume that the number of apples for domestic consumption is not a small piece of the pie both in absolute and in relative terms. For example, the estimated physical capacity of the domestic apple market is comparable to about half to one-fifth of the annual Moldovan apple exports (99,000 tons in 2015; 262,000 tons in 2019).

It is also worth considering that in the past two or three years, the centre of gravity of fruit sales in Moldova has shifted from open wholesale and retail markets to supermarkets and convenience stores. According to expert studies, approximately 60% of Chisinau residents prefer to buy fruits and vegetables in stores rather than in markets since 2019. The catalyst for this process last year was more or less strict restrictions on the operation of open fruit and vegetable markets, which were in effect for seven months, including the most stringent ones in the first half of the year.

It is also important to note that the largest supermarket chains in Moldova in terms of sales prefer to either import a wide range of fruits, including apples or cooperate in this area with importing traders. Representatives of the Moldovan retailers’ association claim that last year local fruits accounted for no more than 30% of the goods sold by the produce departments of supermarkets.

The Federation of Agricultural Producers of Moldova (FARM), citing data from the customs service, reports that in the last five years, the import of apples to the Moldovan market ranged from 1,000 to 8,600 tons. Moreover, the largest physical volumes of imported apple supplies were noted during those years when the harvest of these fruits in Moldova were the largest (665,000 tons in 2018 and 610,000 tons in 2019). By the way, apple exports in these years were also at the maximum of almost 250,000 tons and 262,000 tons respectively.

We assume that in those peak years, the relatively expensive local apples were exported and were replaced in chain supermarkets with relatively inexpensive imported apples on the Moldovan market. In 2018-2019, the average wholesale price of apples imported to Moldova was $0.40-0.42/kg while in 2016-2017, which were years of relatively low yields (412,000 and 439,000 tons respectively), the average wholesale prices of imported apples reached the level of $0.44-0.50/kg.

Imports of apples to Moldova has a pronounced seasonal character. The high period of apple imports into the country coincides with the period of the most intensive exports of Moldovan apples, which is from January through May.

In this context, the situation of 2020 looks somewhat anomalous. In the first half of the year, despite logistical disruptions due to the spread of COVID-19, apple deliveries to the country from February to June still remained at a relatively high level (172-413 tons per month) despite the decrease in physical terms compared to the same period in previous years. However, contrary to the trend, imports did not decline but increased in September. As EastFruit reported, local chain retailers explained this by the fact that there was a shortage of high-quality local apples on the domestic market of Moldova. As a result, some Moldovan supermarkets imported apples at a price of about 11-12 lei/kg ($0.66-0.71/kg) for almost the same amount of money that Moldovan apples of the best export quality were wholesale at that moment.

There is an interesting nuance from last year. If Ukraine was the largest apple exporter to Moldova, then in three quarters of 2020 this role passed to Poland. However, supplies of Ukrainian apples have increased since October. Again, some chain retailers have purchased low-quality Ukrainian apples at a price comparable to the price of an export-quality Moldovan apple. According to the results of 2020, and preliminary estimates of agricultural producers’ organizations, apple imports to Moldova approached the level of 6,000-7,000 tons.

To paraphrase the question from the title, why have Moldovan traders ignored the domestic market? It is not such a small sales channel after all. 6,000-8,000 tons is the monthly export volume of Moldovan apples last autumn.

According to produce market operators, there are two main reasons. Large horticultural exporters continue to view the domestic market as a lot of small farmers since, for such trading companies, the monthly volume of products purchased by one large supermarket chain is, at best, their daily export volume. In turn, retailers have repeatedly become convinced that numerous small-scale Moldovan farmers are not able to provide a stable supply of even relatively small volumes of sorted products that are uniform in quality and variety. As a result, it is more convenient for chain markets to deal with intermediary importers (who, moreover, are ready to issue a wide assortment of fruits and vegetables), or import fruits centrally and independently.

Is there a way out of this situation? Perhaps imported apples (as well as plums and grapes) in the Moldovan retail chain could be replaced by one large Moldovan company with a wide range of fruit products and be the first to negotiate with most local supermarket chains.

Сообщение Is the domestic apple market in Moldova worthy of attention from Moldovan traders? появились сначала на EastFruit.

On February 18, 2021, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine granted permission to Silpo-Food LLC (Fozzy Group) to acquire control over the assets of the Furshet Group. Both companies retail primarily in consumer goods.

The exit of the Furshet supermarket chain from the business was predicted by the EastFruit retail audit. Once again, this confirms that to assess the state of business of a supermarket chain, it is enough to conduct a high-quality audit and benchmarking of the produce department, which is absolutely key to the success of the entire food retail business.

“Over the past two years, our audits have successfully predicted the exit from the retail business of supermarket chains in Moldova and Ukraine. In the case of Furshet, it is more proof of the objectivity and high professional level of our audits since Furshet has been a stable outsider of ratings in Kyiv for several years,” says Andriy Yarmak, an economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

It is interesting to note that the Silpo chain itself has recently demonstrated a stable deterioration in the results of audits in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine. In November 2020 in Kyiv, Silpo showed the third-worst result according to the complex assessment of fruit and vegetable departments and for the first time lost even to Furshet! The second from last place was taken by another chain of the Fozzy group – Fora. Things are not good at Silpo in its native city Dnipro where it also took the penultimate place coming close to last, which is firmly entrenched in another supermarket chain of Fozzy Group with the eloquent name “Trash.” In the near future, it remains to be seen that the chain will be able to improve its performance since a low-quality fruit and vegetable department repels consumers who will then choose other supermarkets and the choice in Ukraine is now very wide.

It should be noted that Furshet also has a retail business in Moldova. Owned by the same owner of the Ukrainian Furshet, the “Fourchette” supermarket chain is also not very successful. According to the results of the EastFruit audit in November 2020, it took the penultimate place in the overall rating of Chisinau, having lost five positions in a year. No statements have been made about whether Silpo is buying the Furshet retail business in Moldova.

Сообщение EastFruit retail audits predicted fate of entire chain again – Silpo buys out Furshet supermarkets появились сначала на EastFruit.

The administration for the shopping and entertainment centre Samarkand Darvoza in Tashkent, Uzbekistan announced a power outage in both the retail space and warehouse of the Makro supermarket. An official representative of Makro (Darvoza Savdo LLC) told Kun.uz that, firstly, this incident undermines the company’s credibility, and secondly, the company suffered financial losses. “This situation, according to Uzbek law, directly violates the requirements of the lease agreement,” says the Makro spokesperson.

The possible closing of the Makro supermarket in the Samarkand Darvoza mall after January 7, 2021, was discussed after a message was disseminated about the establishment of strategic cooperation between Majid Al Futtaim and UzOman.  It is noteworthy that within the framework of this long-term cooperation, both companies, combining their capabilities and experience, will contribute to the development of modern retail trade in the country as well as the economy and industry of Uzbekistan.

Majid Al Futtaim plans to open two new Carrefour hypermarkets in Tashkent. The stores are scheduled to open in March-April this year. The hypermarkets will be located in the largest shopping and entertainment centres operated by UzOman – Samarkand Darvoz and Compass. The expansion of Carrefour’s activities in the country began with the opening of its first supermarket in December 2020 according to the announcement.

It turns out that the administration for the large centres Samarkand Darvoza and Compass, which is Uzbek-Omon Investment Company LLC, had not yet terminated their lease agreement with the Makro supermarket chain when it reported the launch of Majid Al Futtaim’s Carrefour supermarkets. The Samarkand Darvoza mall was commissioned in 2013 and the Makro supermarket started operating there from the first days of the mall’s opening.

Read also: Fresh fruits and vegetables are the sales engine – Roman Sayfulin, CEO of Makro supermarkets in Uzbekistan

The Makro spokesperson said that on January 6, 2021, Samarkand Darvoz sent them a letter asking them to vacate the rented premises the day before the news of the establishment of strategic cooperation ties between Majid Al Futtaim and UzOman was released. According to the Makro spokesperson, this request is illegal for a number of reasons:

“During the term of the lease agreement and the documents attached to it, SD Mall LLC (administration of Samarkand Darvoz) has not received a single complaint about any violation of the terms of the lease agreement. Also, Darvoza Savdo LLC (owner of the Makro trademark) on several occasions proposed to extend the lease agreement for 10 years with an increase in the rent. In addition, the spread of news about the opening of Carrefour in Samarkand Darvoza violates the rights of Makro.”

The Makro supermarket chain was not given the opportunity to resolve the matter with the SD Mall out of court. Therefore, Darvoza Savdo LLC was forced to file a claim with the court. “Before a decision had been made regarding the case in court, the power supply was cut off on the premises used by Darvoza Savdo LLC as a trading floor and warehouse,” says a representative of Darvoza Savdo LLC.

Samarkand Darvoza has not yet commented on the incident.

EastFruit will continue to monitor the situation.

Сообщение Battle for retail space escalating in Uzbekistan – Carrefour or Makro? появились сначала на EastFruit.