Upward Production but Downward Export Trends with Uzbekistan Fresh Sweet Cherries

According to Tridge’s data, Uzbekistan’s total production for sweet fresh cherries in 2020 was 185.1K metric ton, a 5.24% YoY increase compared with a previous year (see figure 1). Over the past 5 years, Uzbekistan experienced a significant increase of 105.63% in fresh sweet cherry production. A steady increase of fresh cherry production in Uzbekistan can be explained by the government’s agricultural subsidy programs, as well as horticulture development projects financed by international financial institutions such as the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Figure 1: Fresh Cherry Production in Uzbekistan

Source: Tridge

As in Figure 2 below, Uzbekistan with its 185.07K metric tons of fresh sweet cherry production in 2020 took the 4th place accounting for 8.3% of the global production, after Türkiye, United States and Chile. Based on the previous data on fresh sweet cherry production in Uzbekistan, it is likely that the production of cherries will increase in the upcoming years, too.

Figure 2: Global Fresh Cherry Production Share by Countries

Source: Tridge

Even though Uzbekistan is the number four biggest producer of fresh sweet cherries globally, its share in export is still weak. According to recent Tridge data (see figure 3), the export value of Uzbekistan in 2021 was USD 84.91M, a 39.77% YoY increase compared with a previous year. However, the export volume recorded as 17.72M KGs (around 16K metric ton) in 2021 which was a 43.53% YoY decrease compared with a previous year.

Figure 3: Overview of Uzbekistan Cherry Export

Source: Tridge

Below (figure 4) is the top 10 countries that have the highest export values in the global fresh sweet cherry market in 2021. As can be seen there, Uzbekistan ranked in the 7th place with USD 84.91M export value and 17.72M KGs supply volume to the global market. Taking into consideration Uzbekistan's cherry production capacity, the country underperformed in exporting. In 2022, Uzbekistan set an anti-record for cherry exports to China, which is the biggest market in fresh cherry imports globally.

Figure 4: Trends of Top 10 Cherry Exporters

Source: Tridge

There are several issues why Uzbekistan’s share in the global cherry export is relatively low. The first problem is that the country depends on few traditional markets in the CIS region. Considering the rapid decline of purchasing power in those markets, Uzbekistan should reduce the market dependency with broader market diversification into Europe, North-East Asia or the Middle East regions. Below in Figure 5 it can be seen the major export destinations of Uzbek cherries which are Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan etc.

Figure 5: Trends of Uzbek Cherries Top Export Destinations with Export Value

Source: Tridge

Another problem why Uzbekistan’s fresh cherries face difficulty in reaching new markets is quality control and weaker infrastructure for its post-harvest handling. Uzbekistan cherry growers should focus on the production of large-caliber cherries, which are highly demanded in the global market. In order to meet that demand, Uzbek cherry cultivation farms have to invest in the improvement of cherry harvest processing and sorting facilities on a regular basis.

Government support also plays a critical role for Uzbek cherry growers to be competitive in the world market. Over the past 3 years, in order to provide implementation of the President Decree "On Additional Measures to Further Develop the Fruit-Vegetable and Viticulture Industry, to Create an Added Value Chain in the Sector" from December 11, 2019, a series of government subsidies are being introduced for farmers to establish 30,000 hectares of orchards to grow export-oriented fruits, particularly fresh sweet cherries. So far, the Agency for Horticulture and Greenhouse Development allocated more than 80 billion UZS subsidies for drip irrigation technologies, 134 drilled wells and pumping stations in newly established gardens on 11,900 hectares.

In conclusion, there is an upward trend in cherry production in Uzbekistan in the last 10 years. Both producers and the government are interested in growing sweet cherries. However, only a very small part of the harvest is subject to export. Uzbekistan underperformed in fresh cherry export globally because of quality and logistics issues. If Uzbek fresh sweet cherry producers work on market diversification, remove dependency in traditional markets, quality issues and invest in post-harvest processing infrastructure, they can definitely join the global fresh sweet cherry market on a bigger scale.