From the beginning of January to the end of October 2021, the volume of fresh watermelon exports from Uzbekistan in physical terms amounted to 43.6 thousand tonnes, which is 11% less than in the same period in 2020. Since the exports season for Uzbek watermelon has already ended, this volume will be close to the final for 2021.

However, despite a slight decrease in the export of watermelon in 2021, it was abnormally high for the second year in a row, namely 14 times higher than the average annual export in 2017-2019. EastFruit analysts figured out whether the export growth in 2020-2021 was accidental, or it was the beginning of a trend and new opportunities for increasing the country’s exports in the fruit and vegetable segment.

Let’s analyze the geography of watermelon exports before and after the sharp increase in volumes. It turns out that the main importing countries in 2020-2021 and their share in supplies have changed significantly, as can be seen from the two diagrams below.

Before the sharp increase in exports, Tajikistan was the main buyer of watermelons from Uzbekistan. More than a third of all products were supplied there. Three countries: Tajikistan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan accounted for 77% of all watermelon exports.

However, the situation has changed significantly in 2020-2021. The share of Kazakhstan in supplies rose to 55%, and of Russia – up to 33%. Thus, more than 88% of all watermelon exports of Uzbekistan accounted for two countries, one of which was not previously among the main sales markets!

It is even more interesting to look at the changes in the volume of supplies that may help us find out whether the growth of Uzbek exports was accidental or temporary.

In terms of growth in supply volumes, attention is drawn to, first of all, two countries – Kazakhstan and Russia. In 2021, 36 thousand tonnes of watermelon more were exported to these two countries than in 2019. In 2020, their share in the Uzbek exports of watermelon was even higher. We need to understand why the demand for Uzbek watermelon in these countries has dramatically increased to assume whether they will buy watermelon in Uzbekistan in 2022.

By the way, we cannot discount Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Moldova that also increased purchases.

Let’s look at the statistics of international trade in watermelons of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan. It turns out that both countries sharply increased the volume of watermelon imports in 2020 and 2021. Russia, which was itself a major exporter of watermelon until 2020, sharply reduced its exports and increased imports.

Given the different ripening periods of watermelon in Uzbekistan, as well as in the key importing countries, Russia and Kazakhstan, it seems that the demand for the earlier watermelon has increased there. Traditionally, Russian consumers preferred to buy watermelon no earlier than August, because of fears of the high nitrate content in early watermelons, and their low taste.

However, the situation has recently started to change, in our opinion, partly due to the supply of watermelon from Uzbekistan. Uzbek watermelons ripen much earlier and have a high sugar content, which could not but be noted by Russian and Kazakh consumers. In 2021, Uzbekistan exported more than 2.4 thousand tonnes of watermelon in May, and more than 40 thousand tonnes in June-July!

It can be concluded that the sharp increase in watermelon exports from Uzbekistan is most likely not an accident, but a new market opportunity. It is no accident that watermelon has become one of the country’s key export positions in the summer, along with cherries and apricots, over the past two years. It should still be borne in mind that in order to further expand watermelon exports and their geography, Uzbek producers should also pay attention to trend seedless varieties of watermelon of smaller size.

Сообщение Sharp increase in watermelon exports from Uzbekistan in recent years – an accident or a new trend? появились сначала на EastFruit.

The first persimmon of the “Hiakume” variety arrived on the Tbilisi wholesale market. Prices fluctuate between 1.50-2 GEL ($ 0.48-0.64). These are the first batches, the fruits are still small and producers are trying to sell fruits of this caliber as quickly as possible. Commercial growers plan to harvest the main volume of persimmons in October. Due to heavy rains and hail, a significant part of the persimmon harvest was damaged, and farmers in the Kakheti region, Kvareli municipality, lost hundreds of tons of crops. Therefore, persimmons will not be cheap this season.

Since 2017, Georgia has been increasing the production and export of persimmons by at least 10% per year. The share of exports of produced persimmons is also growing – from 37% in 2017 to 75% in 2020. Thus, in 2020, Georgia exported 2.5 times more persimmons (in tons) than on average over the past 6 years – 11.5 thousand tons.

Basically, persimmons were sold to Ukraine, but in the last 2 years, the share of exports to Ukraine decreased from 50% to 30%, and in 2020 more than 40% of the volume went to the Russian Federation. The average export price over the past three years has been fairly stable – $0.50 per 1 kg.

There are three main varieties in Georgia – Hachia (the so-called Japanese persimmon or Japanese), Fuyu and Hyakume (kinglet persimmon). Farmers are also experimenting with the Spanish Rojo Brilliante.

Read also: Poor harvest of persimmon in Spain – is it a chance for Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Georgia?

It is Hachia that is in high demand in the Ukrainian and Russian markets. It is a seedless variety that is harvested firm but ripe when 2/3 of the fruit is bright orange and is being refined in the target market. Hachia is grown on 95% of all commercial plantations in Georgia.

Hyakume variety requires mandatory pollination in order to get kinglet, as it is called in Georgia. Persimmon blooms from mid-May to mid-June. If pollination has not occurred, then the fruit will be rich in tannin – the taste will be astringent. On the same tree, you can get both astringent fruit and kinglet, depending on the quality of pollination.

Growing the Fuyu variety is the most convenient, since you don’t have to worry about pollination and the variety, as it is non-astringent. Although it is not popular in the local market, as consumers determine the presence of tannins in the old way by the color of the fruit pulp – if the color is brown, it is kinglet and it is non-astringent. In fact, this variety has light pulp, which is mistakenly considered astringent. The fruit is also lighter than Hachia and is harvested a little earlier before it is ripe.

Rojo Brilliante is also an astringent variety.

The advantage of astringent varieties is that they are less sensitive to temperature and more transportable. For Hyakume and Fuyu, on the other hand, refrigeration is required.

Сообщение The first persimmon of the seasons is available on the Georgian market появились сначала на EastFruit.

Offers of kiwi seedlings, an exotic fruit for Uzbekistan so far, have become increasingly common in Uzbek Telegram channels and Facebook groups on farming. However, it is still unknown whether there are kiwi orchards at commercial levels in the country.

EastFruit experts asked one of the most experienced kiwi growers, Shukhrat Umarov from Kokand, Fergana region, about his practice of kiwi cultivation in Uzbekistan. Mr. Umarov has been growing kiwi for 15 years and willingly shares the peculiarities of its cultivation technologies in Uzbek climate. Shukhrat Umarov grows kiwi in the open field and considers this culture to be winter-hardy enough for the local conditions.

– Please tell us why did you decide to experiment with growing kiwi in Uzbekistan?

– I like to experiment with cultures that are new to our climate and and territory. In 2006, I heard that a growers from Andijan brought a few kiwi seedlings from Turkey. It interested me, but, unfortunately, I didn’t have enough money to buy them. Then I learned that kiwi can be grown from seeds. I bought a Hayward kiwi in a store, took the seeds, planted them in a special soil and began to grow kiwi seedlings. After a year, the seedlings reached about 40 cm and I put them into regular soil outside. In the next 5 years, three out of ten seedlings blossomed, but only one of these three bore fruit.

Observing the differences in flowers and the fruiting process, I realized that kiwi seedlings are of two types – male and female. Accordingly, the male type is pollinating, it blooms, but does not bear fruit, and only the female type bears fruit. They even differ in the color of the flowers.

In the photo: female (left) and male (right) types of kiwi plant

I studied and mastered the methods of grafting kiwi seedlings, the optimal ratio of male and female types, the best time of the year for grafting, the peculiarities of caring for this plant, including watering, fertilizing, pruning, etc.

As a result, in 2018, I got about 50 kg of kiwi harvest from each plant for the first time. By my calculations, about 40 tons of kiwis are harvested per hectare, since there are about 800 plants per hectare.

It must be noted that kiwi harvest will increase with each subsequent year from the moment the plant begins to bear fruit. For example, in the first year of fruiting, 5-10 kg per plant are harvested, in the second year – 20-30 kg, and so on up to 50-60 kg.

– Are there any taste differences between your kiwis and imported ones?

– Of course, there are. Kiwis grown in Uzbekistan differ from imported ones in a sweeter and, in my opinion, richer taste. It is difficult for me to describe the taste – you need to try it.

– What are the features of growing kiwi in Uzbekistan based on your experience?

– For this plant, the following conditions should be provided: first, moist and soft soi, and second, maintaining the required level of humidity. In the hot and dry climate of Uzbekistan, it can be provided with drip irrigation or in another ways, but not abundant. The humidity can be achieved by injecting water using sprinkler systems at certain times of the day. Based on my experience, in the conditions of Uzbekistan such sprinkling or spraying of the kiwi plant should be done from May to September inclusive, every day for several hours a day, and even after sunset in summer.

If air humidity is not sufficient, the fruits are smaller than imported ones. In other words, it affects the size of kiwis.

Therefore, there are better conditions for the cultivation of kiwi in Uzbek regions and micro-zones with higher humidity, as well as the air temperature lower than the national average.

In terms of care, the kiwi plant is not very pretentious. Kiwi is resistant to diseases and does not require special protection measures against diseases or pests. Therefore, much less agrotechnical work is needed compared to other crops. As for fertilizers, I can say that the use of, for instance, vermicompost gives very good results.

It is important to know and observe the optimal time for grafting kiwi seedlings in Uzbekistan, to master the methods and techniques of pruning. The yield of kiwi directly is directly dependente. For example, the branches that bore fruit this year will not bear fruit next year, so they need to be pruned.

Hayward kiwi harvest fully ripens in the first ten days of November, but for long-term storage and transportation, you need to start harvesting from about October 25th.

– What about frost resistance and the effect of frost on the crop, which occurs every few years?

– The seedlings I have grown during 15 years have withstood all the winters and colds. In 2008, there was a very cold winter in Uzbekistan. My seedlings were only two years old then, and I thought it was the time my experiments with kiwi ended. To my surprise, in spring I saw that the seedlings survived.

The frosts in late February and mid-March 2021 certainly affected the kiwi harvest. This year, the yield dropped to 25-30 kg per plant – almost 2 times lower than usual. But I still got kiwi harvest from every female plant.

– Do you plan to create industrial kiwi orchard in Uzbekistan?

– I am often asked this question, but I am mainly focused on other crops, and I do not have the land for such orchards. Growing kiwi is my hobby, caused by the desire to cultivate this plant in the conditions of Uzbekistan and see how it turns out.

As a commercial component of my hobby, I established a small business for growing and selling kiwi seedlings, accompanying and advising on its cultivation.

– How do you assess the interest of farmers in kiwi seedlings? Have there been any large orders?

– I did not have large orders for kiwi seedlings. The volume of orders is from a few to twenty seedlings, they are bought mainly for planting in subsidiary or personal plots. Accordingly, this kiwi harvest goes for personal consumption and almost does not enter the market.

According to EastFruit analysts, from 2017 to 2019, the volume of kiwi imports to Uzbekistan increased from 1.2 thousand tons to a record 4.1 thousand tons per year, and in 2020 decreased to 2.1 thousand tons. More than half was supplied from Iran, and the rest from Pakistan and Turkey. Small volumes of kiwi – up to 70 tons per year, are also imported from Chile, China and Russia (re-export). In 2021, Argentina joined the list of kiwi suppliers.

Currently, the average retail price for kiwi in supermarkets in Uzbekistan is 55,000 UZS/kg ($5.1/kg).

Obviously, the cost of growing kiwis in Uzbekistan will be lower than in the largest countries supplying them to the global market due to lower labor costs. Providing high humidity in the farm with sprinklers will also help protect kiwi from frost if necessary, since the sprinklers are the most effective protection system today when the temperature drops below zero in spring.

Given high prices in the domestic market, the commercial cultivation of kiwi in Uzbekistan can be profitable, EastFruit experts conclude. Moreover, thanks to the possibility to harvest kiwis riper, they can be sold more expensive than imported ones, as they will be more delicious. And if the locals try really tasty kiwi and tell their friends, the consumption of these fruits in the country can rise sharply, creating new opportunities for investment in production. Then exports can be considered. For instance, in neighboring Tajikistan, the popularity of kiwi is growing rapidly and it has already become a must-have of the New Year’s table.

Сообщение Growing kiwi in Uzbekistan – grower’s experience появились сначала на EastFruit.

Ukrainian enthusiasts of haskap, a rather new berry for consumers, will be able to enjoy the new harvest of it very soon, analysts of the EastFruit project report.

Despite the fact that rains are recorded almost everywhere Ukraine, market experts and the producers state that this may only influence the timing of the mass harvest of the haskap. According to the producers, the low temperatures of the past winter, the unusually cool first half of spring, as well as cloudy and rainy weather in the first days of this summer did not have a negative impact on the state of the haskap plantations, and, accordingly, did not affect the volume of the future harvest of the berries on farms.

Geographically, the commercial production of haskap in Ukraine is concentrated in the most northern regions of the country, namely in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Lviv and Volyn.

“The most unfavorable weather phenomenon for the production of haskap is the stable hot and dry weather with high temperature indicators, which makes it almost impossible to grow haskap in the southern regions of Ukraine,” says Oleksandr Yareschenko, National Institute of Horticulture of Ukraine. As for the cool and rainy weather in almost all regions in early June this year, according to the expert, it is the best conditions for the growing season of haskap berries. “However, there is a question mark regarding the taste of the future harvest. Due to the fact that most of the cultivated varieties of this berry in Ukraine are not so sweet, the lack of clear sunny days during the ripening period of the haskap could lead to the excess acidity in the fruits,” the expert summed up.

The first haskap berries this season have already been sold by producers in the Kharkiv region, who had a trial sample from the plantings of the earliest varieties. The price for first berries was reported at the level of last year, namely UAH 150/kg (US $5.5 per kg), but the rains in the region prevented further sales.

“The current rains will at most delay the peak of the mass harvest of berries, but will in no way affect the haskap harvest as a whole. And we are happy with the size of berries this year,” Evhen Nesterenko, director of the Krasnokutsk Experimental Gardening Station, says.

Neither negative air temperatures in winter, when indicators below -20*C were recorded for several days, nor cool and rainy weather this spring had a negative impact on the haskap harvest in the western regions of Ukraine.

“The shift in the mass harvesting of haskap by at least 7-10 days in relation to last year is confirmed. Berries on the bushes have already reached the required size, and only a few sunny days would have accelerated its ripening. Losses of berries as a result of overwintering and a cool spring have not been recorded in our country,” Mykhailo Slesarchuk, Ekogalichproduct, says.

According to the forecasts of EastFruit specialists , significant price fluctuations in the haskap segment during the current season should not be expected, which is confirmed by similar forecasts by analysts of the APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits project.

“Despite the fact that the current haskap berry season in Ukraine will start at least a week later, and the prices for first berries announced by the producers are identical to last year’s, it can be assumed that in the future they will be close to the indicators of 2020, since commercial production of these niche berries is only at the initial stage in Ukraine,” Olexandr Khorev, head of the APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits project, says.

Сообщение Haskap season is to start in early June in Ukraine появились сначала на EastFruit.