Russia is interested in grape juice from Uzbekistan
Own interest of entrepreneurs affects the high share of Uzbek grapes and the production of juices and concentrates from it. Soyuznapitkov Maxim Novikov told Sputnik Uzbekistan about this.
According to him, grape juice was once the most important item in his Russian drinkcom, its market share has reached one-third. But over time, the addictive drink threw out orange juice, the raw material for which is served out of use. Currently, there is an increase in the share of large juices on store shelves – and a resurgence in large quantities of grape juice.
They represent the interests of individual large enterprises in Uzbekistan. Prospects for cooperation between Soyuznapitki representatives were discussed during a visit to Uzbekistan to participate in the UzFood exhibition, which was held in Tashkent at the end of March.
“We are talking about detecting the processing of fruits and vegetables, which in rare cases is more interesting for both the state and Uzbek agricultural producers. Delivers not just grapes, but concentrated grape juice. This is the development of deep processing of grapes in the places of growth, i.e. in regions such as Samarkand, Bukhara,” Novikov explained.
This, in particular, is about locating the production of juice concentrates in Uzbekistan. Further, such concentrates in Russia both in the republic and in other countries.
“Today we are communicating with public business to expand cooperation with Uzbek colleagues. These are not projects of one day, of course, but we see that on the scale of two or three years, the prospects for trade are colossal,” Maxim Novikov said in detail in an interview with Sputnik.
A supranational association of juice, water and beverage producers is currently being registered. This union can be provided by manufacturers from different countries with the richest and most technological resources.
Earlier it was reported that Russian restaurateurs also showed great interest in the supply of vegetables, fruits, nuts, as well as textiles and wine from Uzbekistan. According to the statement of the head of the federation of restaurateurs and hoteliers of Russia Igor Bukharov, a special event with buyers and suppliers from Russia is scheduled for May.
In the sphere of trade turnover, Russia remains the key partner of Uzbekistan. At the beginning of this year, the republic exported goods worth $346.8 million to the Russian Federation. The top 5 states purchasing goods in Uzbekistan also included China, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The State Statistics Committee also reports that by the end of 2021, the total trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Russia increased by 32.8%, to $7,517 billion. The Russian Federation came out on top among the major partner countries of the republic with a share of 17.9% in the total foreign trade turnover of the republic.
According to the Minister of Economic Development of Russia Maxim Reshetnikov, Russia pays special attention to Uzbekistan in reorienting exports and imports, searching for new markets, building new logistics and production chains.