Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - During the visit of the UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan Ms. Matilda Dimovsk to Namangan region, a ceremonial opening of a business project on cold storage in Chartak district.

The project was implemented within the framework of the joint project of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the UNDP “Improving sustainability and adaptation of farmers in the Fergana Valley to the risks of climate change” with financial assistance from the Russian Federation.

The production capacity of refrigerating chambers is 300 tons, where within the framework of the project assistance was provided in the purchase of refrigeration units for 3 chambers for US$26,000. The rest of the project costs (US$180,000) was covered by the project initiator - the local farm "Boburjon Javokhir Sohibjon".

It is planned to store prunes in this storage facility, which will be further processed and exported. The season for ripening and harvesting of prunes is usually 1 month, during which it is also necessary to have time and dry the products, but thanks to the project, this period can be extended to 6 months.

Commenting on the event, the head of the CCI department, Oleg Ryzhychenko, noted that: “Within the framework of the project, in the near future it is planned to open another refrigeration storage project in Chartak district with a budget of US$228,000 and a production capacity of 400 tons. Both projects are very significant for these areas, since at a distance closer than 25-30 km, there is not a single cold store in the district that would help local producers to store their crops and sell them at more reasonable prices in the future.”