Uzbekistan’s watermelon exports took off in early May 2023, nearly a week ahead of schedule, thanks to scorching temperatures across the country. Since mid-May, the nation has already shipped over 30 thousand tons of watermelons, setting a historic record for the start of the export season, according to analysts at EastFruit.
Preliminary trade statistics reveal that in May 2023, Uzbekistan exported 30.4 thousand tons of watermelons, generating $6.5 million in revenue. Compared to the same month last year, the volume of exports increased by a staggering 9 times, surpassing May 2021 exports by an impressive 12 times. While over 99% of the exported volume went to countries within the Eurasian Economic Union, Kazakhstan and Russia remained the top destinations.
During the final ten days of May 2023, Uzbekistan shipped approximately 29 thousand tons of watermelons, averaging a remarkable 2.6 thousand tons daily. As a result, high export volumes are expected to continue throughout June.
This promising start to the current export season suggests that Uzbekistan may surpass last year’s watermelon export record by the end of 2023. Typically, the watermelon export season in Uzbekistan spans from May to mid-November.
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“In 2022, Uzbekistan exported 74% of its watermelons in June. If the volume of watermelon exports remains as high as in June 2022, total exports will reach a record high of nearly 90 thousand tons by the end of this month. However, we anticipate that in June 2023, Uzbekistan’s watermelon exports will approach or even exceed 70,000 tons, resulting in an annual export volume surpassing 100,000 tons for the first time in the country’s history,” explains Andriy Yarmak, an economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
In 2022, Uzbekistan achieved a record-breaking watermelon export volume of 81.8 thousand tons, generating $18.1 million in revenue. This represented a remarkable 90% increase in physical terms compared to the same period in 2021 and a 70% surge compared to the previous record set in 2020.
