According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Tajik farmers have harvested more than 456,000 tons of fruits by November 20 this year, which is 47,000 tons more than in the same period last year.  

An official source at a MoA says the indicators gave improved due to a good harvest of sweet cherries, plums, apricots, apples and lemons. 

“Meanwhile, fruits such as figs, pomegranates, persimmons and grapes have not produced the expected harvest this year this year did not produce the expected harvest since they suffered greatly from the abnormal cold at the beginning of the year,” the source noted.  

The severe winter frost reportedly devastated the vineyards in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.  Table grapes, which are normally the cheapest fruits in Tajikistan at this time of the year, are now scarce and expensive.

Frost damage to grapes has reportedly cost Tajikistan millions in export revenue.

Over the reporting period, the revenue from the export of fresh and dried fruits has decreased by 13.4 million US dollars compared to the same period last year and amounted to 33.6 million US dollars.  

Experts note that decrease in the export revenue has resulted from this year’s low international prices for fruits. 

However, despite the fact that the low international prices for fruits have been low compared to the last year, fruits have gone up in prices in Central Asia, including Tajikistan.