In the first three months since the beginning of the melon export season from Uzbekistan, the volume of shipments of this product to foreign markets was 22% less than the record figure for the same period last year, EastFruit analysts say.
The current export season of Uzbek melon started in the first ten days of May with the start of deliveries of early melon varieties to foreign markets. According to preliminary trade statistics, in May-July 2023, the volume of exports of these products amounted to 17.1 thousand tons for a total of $6.4 million, which is 22% less in physical terms than last year. However, in May-July 2022, Uzbekistan exported a record volume of melons, several times higher than in previous years.
Compared to previous years, the export of Uzbek melon in the first three months of the start of this season is 60% more than in the same period in 2021 and at least 2.4 times higher than in the same period of 2018-2021.
In May-July 2023, Uzbekistan exported melons to the markets of 17 countries. The leading importers of these products are Kyrgyzstan – 6.4 thousand tons (37.5% of total exports), Russia – 3.9 thousand tons (23. 1%), Kazakhstan – 2.8 thousand tons (16.6%) and Latvia – 1.2 thousand tons (7.2%). The total share of these four countries accounts for 84.4% of the total export of Uzbek melon. The rest of the export was distributed among the importing countries:
Poland – 575 tons;
Germany – 554 tons;
Belarus – 430 tons;
Ukraine – 379 tons;
Tajikistan – 254 tons;
Lithuania – 253 tons;
Moldova – 83 tons;
UAE – 43 tons;
Other countries – 82 tons.
The export season for melons from Uzbekistan generally lasts about nine months: from May to January or February of the following year. However, active shipments to foreign markets are from June to November. The total share of these six months accounts for more than 95% of the total export volume for the entire season.
