The government of Uzbekistan is aiming for self sufficiency. Ambassadors are sent out to strengthen the ties with the international greenhouse horticulture. Uzbekistan is not a subject to threats. The ambition to be self sufficient arises from economical drives. Export to neighboring countries Russia and Turkmenistan is attractive.
Marcel Koppert, from the Poland branch of Gakon, expects that people will want to eat food of better quality. Greenhouse vegetables now come from far, and the quality of a tomato does not improve when it spends two weeks in a truck.
Marcel: "Sometimes, I see products on the shelves here which Dutch people would not consider edible. The people here do not want that anymore, people want to eat good and healthy food. And you can't blame them."
Letter of Intent
Marcel Koppert and his colleague Lyudmyla Martynyuk of Gakon have signed a Letter of Intent for a project in the region of Tashkent of 10 hectare for the cultivation of vegetables. In Uzbekistan, this is a large companie.
On February 17, a delegation from Uzbekistan visited Gakon in Wateringen and the nation's national television was also present. See the film.
Most of the requests are for companies of 1 to 2 hectare. Marcel: "We are happy with the Letter of Intent of Uzbekistan. Because if anything is going to be built, it will be done by Gakon. That is good, but we are not there yet. It is the intention to realize this project at the end of the year, so wee are now waiting for green light from the banks."
Marcel expects things to turn out right. Lyudmyla Martynyuk, Gakon: "And let's hope the corona virus will not cause too many delays in construction."
Marcel and Lyudmyla
Presentation plan end of April
It is clear that the government is focused on greenhouse horticulture. At the end of April, a plan will be presented in which the horticulture plans will be unfolded, along with the most recent developments in the subsidy program. How this will be done exactly is not known yet.
Growth market
Gakon, from their branch in Poland, has been active for years for the SIS-countries, the Russian speaking countries and Eastern Europe. Since a few years, they are making a name for themselves in Uzbekistan. Lyudmyla: "The market of Uzbekistan grows, but there are challenges. When working on projects, we consider the physical, geographical and climate conditions of the region with the requirements and objectives of the customer.
The climate and earthquakes of Uzbekistan and lack of fresh water are not the challenges for us, because we have realized projects in 40 countries. We are prepared to offer customized, high-tech greenhouse horticulture projects in which energy saving technologies and sustainable use of water sources are applied for the growers in Uzbekistan."
Technology and cultivation support fit the agenda of the Uzbekistan government
Lyudmyla: "Gakon brings both greenhouse technology solutions and cultivation support, training of local staff to realize a high yield with the lowest production costs to grow environmentally friendly products. The approach matches the development strategy of the government of Uzbekistan to guarantee food safety, increase the export value and to focus on entering high-quality markets with the horticulture products of high quality produced in Uzbekistan."
For more information: 
Gakon Horticultural Projects
www.gakon.nl
+48 656 04 66
Lyudmyla Martynyuk
lmartynyuk@gakon.com
+48 500 280 719
Marcel Koppert
mkoppert@gakon.com
+48 660 444 226