November 20, 2023, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan — On November 15, 2023, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, hosted an international conference in Ashgabat to promote the leading horticultural commodities (tomatoes and melons) export from Turkmenistan to advance connectivity and trade.
About fifty participants including Turkmenistan horticultural producers, national consultants, transport and logistics companies, buyers from global retail chains and government agencies that joined in person and online, discussed ongoing efforts to increase the export of horticultural produce to new markets by adopting new international standards and complying with the foreign markets’ entry requirements.
In his opening remarks, USAID Country Representative to Turkmenistan Mr. Jeffrey Skarin noted that, with support from USAID, Turkmenistan is increasingly exporting melons and tomatoes to new markets, as far as Austria and other European Union countries. The U.S. Government supports Turkmenistan’s export markets because it believes that economic diversification is critical to Turkmenistan’s economic independence.
In his turn, Mr. Shamammed Annaev, Member of the Board of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, expressed his gratitude to USAID for increasing the export potential of the Union’s members, and emphasized the importance of introducing international standards to diversify supply offers.
At the same time, participants discussed the findings of a market research study undertaken by an international analytical company to identify new directions for export diversification of melons and tomatoes, considering global economic trends, consumers’ behaviors and volatile fruit and vegetable markets. To improve understanding of technical and commercial standards for fresh produce, representatives of international retail chains and food importers with experience in Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, and other EU and Middle Eastern countries, provided additional insights and know-hows.
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USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. For more information, visit the USAID/Central Asia website and USAID/Central Asia’s Facebook page, and the Central Asia Trade Forum website.