Pakistan is pushing China and Turkey away from the Uzbek mandarin market

Mandarins from Pakistan are now available on the supermarkets shelves in the capital of Uzbekistan, which indicates the arrival of the first shipments of these products from Pakistan this season, EastFruit experts from Tashkent report.

The retail price of Pakistani mandarins in stores in the Uzbek capital averages 12,500 sum/kg (US $1.02), which is at least one and a half times cheaper than mandarins supplied to Uzbekistan from other countries. It also one of the cheapest fruits available to local consumers today as table grapes and apples are unusually expensive.

Pakistan is the largest supplier of these products to the Uzbekistan market. Over the past few years, this country has been actively increasing exports of mandarins to the Uzbek market and has increased its market share considerably.

As can be seen from the data in the diagram, even with a sharp decrease in the total volume of mandarin imports to Uzbekistan in the year 2020 due to COVID-19 trade restrictions, the volume of Pakistani mandarin supplies to the Uzbek market fell only rather insignificantly. Moreover, from 2019 to 2022, Pakistan’s share of in mandarin market increased from 56% to 80%, while China’s share decreased from 37% to 9% during the same period.

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In general, after a decline in 2020, the volume of mandarin imports to Uzbekistan not only recovered, but also increased significantly. The largest jump in the volume of mandarin imports was observed in 2022 when Uzbekistan imported 63.6 tons, which is 1.8 times more than in 2021 and 2.8 times more than in 2020.

According to EastFruit analysts, by the end of 2023 the total volume of mandarin imports to Uzbekistan will exceed the 2022 figure and may be in the range of 65-75 thousand tons, making this country a very attractive market for supplies of easy peelers.