Uzbekistan beats onion export record

Uzbekistan lifted onion export restrictions onions from March 15, 2023, and, according to EastFruit, since that day the country has been consistently exporting record volumes of yellow onions. According to preliminary trade statistics, during the 3.5 months from the date of lifting the export restriction, 222.8 thousand tons of onions were shipped to foreign markets, which is 53% more compared to the same last year and 40% from more than in the same period of 2021.

The main buyers of Uzbek onions are, traditionally, Kazakhstan and Russia, which together account for almost 90% of total exports. Kazakhstan, by the way, often re-exports Uzbek onions and often it goes to the EU countries. Notably, onions from Uzbekistan have also been developed directly to the EU countries: Latvia, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia.

Here is the full list of countries where onions from Uzbekistan have been exported.

Kazakhstan – 129.4 thousand tons:

Russia – 70.1 thousand tons (31.4%);

Kyrgyzstan – 8.1 thousand tons (3.6%);

Belarus – 4.8 thousand tons (2.1%):

Latvia – 3.3 thousand tons;

Poland – 2.0 thousand tons;

Afghanistan – 1.6 thousand tons;

Ukraine – 1.2 thousand tons;

Tajikistan – 473 tons;

Lithuania – 445 tons;

Turkmenistan – 331 tons;

Georgia – 308 tons;

Estonia – 282 tons;

Moldova – 276 tons;

Other countries – 263 tons.

After a significant decline from late May to mid-June, over the past three weeks, onion prices in Uzbekistan have been stable. From May 26 to June 16, 2023, the average wholesale price for onions fell from 4,500 to 2,500 sum/kg (from $0.39 to $0.22). Between June 16 and July 7, 2023, the average wholesale price for onions in Uzbekistan remained stable at the level of 2,500 sum / kg ($0.22).