In Uzbekistan, the commercial production of round tomatoes for the fresh market during the summer is rapidly relocating to so-called “cold” greenhouses, net-houses, and foothill regions of the country. According to EastFruit experts, this trend does not apply to the production of plum-shaped tomato varieties for processing.
Asanali Dzhenbaev, protected cultivation representative of Rijk Zwaan Uzbekistan, explains that this transformation is a response to increasing climate stress and the spread of diseases affecting open-field tomatoes:
“In recent years, the area under round tomato cultivation for the fresh market in open fields—particularly in the lowlands—has significantly decreased during the summer in terms of commercial volumes. Production is moving to protected environments such as ‘cold’ greenhouses and net-houses. These structures allow, first, to reduce internal temperatures through shading and natural or forced ventilation, and second, to minimize disease and pest risks through the barrier protection of plants,” Dzhenbaev notes.
Also read: Uzbekistan’s Greenhouse Tomato Exports Drop by 23% in Early 2025, Continuing Four-Year Decline
Dzhenbaev adds that amid increasingly frequent extreme heat events, foothill regions are emerging as a viable alternative to protected cultivation. For example, in Tashkent Region, commercial open-field round tomato plantations are now concentrated in the foothill Parkent district, where summer weather conditions are significantly milder. Today, this district is the main summer supplier of round tomatoes to the capital’s fresh market.
Already three years ago, climate scientists warned that abnormally hot summers in Central Asia were becoming the new normal, with average annual temperatures in the region projected to rise steadily. The effects of global climate change are influencing the length of the summer season and the number of hot days, and Central Asia is now considered one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change. Its average temperatures are rising faster than the global average, and in terms of climate and perception, the region is increasingly resembling the Middle East.
In response to these climate challenges, Uzbek tomato producers are adapting by opting for protected cultivation technologies and foothill areas as their main production strategies to ensure the quality and availability of fresh-market tomatoes during summer. However, given that land with access to water in foothill areas is limited, and that other crops (such as potatoes) also compete for these favorable conditions, protected cultivation technologies remain the primary alternative, conclude EastFruit analysts.
