According to EastFruit analysts, given a continuing decline in imports of greenhouse tomatoes to Russia in 2021, the aggressive expansion of Turkmenistan into this market became a sensation of the year.
In the first eight months of 2021, Turkmenistan has already exported 32 thousand tons of greenhouse tomatoes to Russia, which is almost twice (92%) as much as in the same period last year. This provided Turkmenistan with the 4th position in the ranking of the largest suppliers of greenhouse tomatoes to Russia. In terms of the supply volume, Turkmenistan almost caught up with Uzbekistan that also increased exports over the year, but not that significantly. Uzbek exports grew by 55% to 37.4 thousand tons. For comparison, imports from Turkey decreased by 2% during the same period.
It is time for Uzbekistan to start worrying about its greenhouses that, unlike in Turkmenistan, have problematic access to energy for heating in winter. If Turkmenistan used to be a relatively small supplier and not a competitor to Uzbek greenhouses, Turkmen tomatoes are now actively competing with Uzbek ones in foreign markets.
“Considering the growth rate of supply volumes, as well as the situation with gas prices and gas supply to greenhouse plants in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, we do not exclude that Turkmenistan will overtake Uzbekistan in terms of supply of greenhouse tomatoes to Russia by the end of 2021."
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