France lifts restrictions on supply of Uzbek pomegranates, melons

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

France lifted phytosanitary restrictions on the supply of Uzbek melons and pomegranates to its market, Podrobno.uz reported on August 2.

This followed the talks held between the representatives of the French Ministry of Agriculture and the delegation of Uzbekistan headed by Foreign Trade Minister Jamshid Khodjaev in Paris.

“Following the results of the talks held in France in the Ministry of Agriculture, phytosanitary restrictions on Uzbek melon and pomegranate have been lifted, and quarantine requirements for importing quinces, persimmons, plums, currants and other agricultural products from Uzbekistan have been submitted for consideration,” the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Trade said.

“Currently, the republic's non-oil export to France is presented in small volumes, mainly due to the difficulty the domestic market to enter the demanding European market. We are negotiating with the European Union and, in particular, with France in order to facilitate the access of Uzbek products to European markets by bringing our standards in line with EU requirements so that we can realize all the existing export potential of fruit and vegetable products,” Jamshid Khodjaev said.

In addition, the minister visited the world's largest wholesale market of fresh products “Rungis”. Following negotiations with the President of the market, Stephane Layani, the parties agreed to conduct training seminars and cooperate on accreditation with the aim of promoting Uzbek fruit and vegetable products to the French market.

Also, Rungis leadership supported the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Trade to organize a visit of market representatives to Uzbekistan in order to get acquainted with the export potential of the country and study the possibility of introducing the best practices of France in the sale of agricultural products.

“In the Runjis market, due to the presence of a developed logistics infrastructure and the use of effective management, as well as ensuring the continuous operation of the quality control service, veterinary and phytosanitary supervision, a high level of wholesale trade is achieved, which makes the market attractive across Europe. Now there is a need to introduce the experience of such a horticultural hub in our country, which will allow not only streamlining and systematizing the chain of deliveries of agricultural products from the producer to the end user, but also attract large foreign buyers to the Uzbek market,” the minister added.

Rungis international market is the largest wholesale market of food products in the world. It is located in the south of Paris and belongs to the French state, but it is managed by Semmaris multimodal society. The market is located near the Paris Orly international airport.

In 2017, the market’s turnover amounted to 3.5 million tons of various food products worth 9 billion euros, 32 percent of which was exported. For retail and catering enterprises, Rungis acts as a liaison with more than 2,500 suppliers in one place, which ensures the maintenance of their range and variety of food products.