At the Ist International Fruits and Vegetables Trade Fair, held in July this year in Tashkent, farmers, agricultural companies and other producers of Surkhandarya region have concluded contracts for 209 million dollars. Within the framework of these contracts to date to foreign customers was delivered products in the amount of 67 million dollars.

As a result of the effective use of cultivation areas and the areas of privately-held lots in the region rich harvests of agricultural products is gathered. Every year in the region, are harvested on average more than 118 thousand tons of grapes, about 900 thousand tons of vegetables, more than 200 thousand tons of melons, 225,000 tons of potatoes, more than 50 thousand tons of bean products. According to experts, it is almost three times higher than the needs of the population in the region. In this regard, particular attention is given to the processing and export of agricultural products.

In the region from year to year an increasing number of enterprises engaged in processing and export of agricultural products. In 2015, 16 enterprises have operated in this direction, and this year - already 30 companies. An example of this is the company for processing of agricultural products, formed by the LLC “Gold dried fruits export” in “Yangi Hayot” mahalla of Termez district.

The company, engaged in the storage, drying, freezing and packaging of fruits and vegetables, is equipped with modern equipment. It process 42 thousand tons of 30 species of agricultural products per year. In addition to domestic sales, products are exported to Russia, South Korea and other countries. Agricultural company “Gold agro fresh” under the same enterprise is engaged in growing seedlings in the greenhouse and breeding intensive orchards.

The fair features over 50 kinds of agricultural products, including imported from abroad and adapted to local culture conditions. For example, Stevia, which is grown in the experimental farm “Ollohyor Ohunov” in Shurchi district, contribute to prevent diseases of the liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, diabetes, and normalizes blood pressure. In the farm is implemented work on the expansion of the cultivation of this plant and taken steps to organize its processing with attracting foreign investors.

‘In cooperation with scientists of the National University of Uzbekistan and Tashkent State Agrarian University (TSAU) have tested this plant and recieved positive results,’ said head of the “Ollohyor Ohunov” farm Khikmatulla Allayorov. ‘We have developed the new varietiy of plant “Surhon”. On the basis of scientific research carried out in the farm was published manual “Basics of agricultural technology of seed cultivation of the Stevia plant.” Our products were exhibited at the Ist International Fruits and Vegetables Trade Fair held in the capital, and many of its foreign participants expressed their interest in the quality and signed agreements to purchase. In the homeland of Stevia - in Paraguay from the leaves of this plants get about 6-7 per cent of substances stevioside, we have the figure comes to 12.4 percent. In the future we intend to expand the cultivation of Stevia and develop its exports’.

On the first day of the Territorial Fruits and Vegetables Trade Fair agricultural companies, export enterprises and agricultural-processing activities signed with the representatives of companies and organizations involved in harvesting provision of agricultural products for the autumn-winter period, 212 contracts worth 14.644 million dollars.

The khokim (head of administration) of the Surkhandarya region T.Mamaraimov took a part in event.