Onions will be a hit in Uzbek horticultural exports by the end of 2023

By the end of 2023, onions will become one of the hits in Uzbekistan’s exports in the horticultural segment, if not the main one.  This year Uzbekistan has not only sharply increased the volume of shipments of these products to foreign markets but also significantly expanded the geography of exports, analysts of EastFruit note.

According to preliminary trade statistics, for 5.5 months since Uzbekistan lifted restrictions on onion exports, i.e., from mid-March to late August 2023, 241.4 thousand tons of this product were shipped to foreign markets for $46.3 million. If we compare with the indicators of previous years, in March-August 2023, Uzbekistan exported onions in physical terms by 54% more than in the same period last year and by 29% more than in the same period of 2021.

See also: Will Uzbekistan be able to avoid a collapse in onion prices?

In this case, if in March-August last year, the entire export volume of onions was supplied to the markets of 10 countries, in this period of this year, the number of countries-importers of Uzbek onions amounted to 21, i.e. increased more than 2 times.

Kazakhstan – 136.6 thousand tons (56.6% of total exports);

Russia – 77.9 thousand tons (32.3%);

Kyrgyzstan – 8.6 thousand tons (3.5%);

Belarus – 5.0 thousand tons (2.1%);

Latvia – 4.9 thousand tons (2.1%);

Poland – 2.2 thousand tons (0.9%);

Afghanistan – 1.6 thousand tons (0.7%);

Ukraine – 1.2 thousand tons (0.5%);

Georgia – 1.1 thousand tons (0.5%);

Lithuania – 547 tons (0.2%);

Tajikistan – 473 tons (0.2%);

Estonia – 347 tons (0.1%);

Turkmenistan – 331 tons (0.1%);

Moldova – 276 tons (0.1%);

Czech Republic, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey and Norway – 40 to 80 tons to each of these countries, totaling 260 tons;

Germany and Mongolia – 16 tons to each of these countries.

We remind you that on January 20, 2023, Uzbekistan announced the establishment of a temporary restriction on the export of onions for the period until the end of April this year in order to stabilize prices for this product in the domestic market, meet consumer demand of the population and ensure food security in the country. However, within two weeks of the specified period – from March 15, 2023, the government of the country canceled the temporary restriction on the export of onions.