Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Agrological centers in eight regions of Uzbekistan will be created and launched with the participation of the French Rungis Semmaris.

The signing of a framework agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan and the French company Rungis Semmaris took place on 9 December 2020 online with the support of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in France and the Embassy of France in Uzbekistan.

The signing ceremony from the French side was attended by the Minister-Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Frank Riester, Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Baptiste Chauvel, Head of Continental Europe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France Maxim Dafri and Director General of Rungis Semmaris Stefan Layani.

Thanks to the participation of Rungis Semmaris, the Ministry of Agriculture plans to implement, in accordance with high international standards, projects to create and manage in Uzbekistan - and in Central Asia - a network of eight large agricultural centers.

“All these huge centers of agricultural logistics will be built on the outskirts of large cities - their total area will be about 200 hectares with a total capacity of more than 3 million tonnes per year. The largest Tashkent agrological center will occupy an area of 70-100 hectares, and the most compact will be Khorezm, but its size of 10 hectares will also be impressive in scale. Just for comparison, this is the size of two or three large residential areas in the capital, or about 15 football stadiums in total! As in the famous French mega-market Rangis, only wholesalers will be able to trade in these agrological complexes. The main goal of the agro-centers is to develop the export potential of the country, to bring the entire process of preparing agricultural products to enter foreign markets to the international level,” the Minister of Agriculture Jamshid Khojaev explained.

All the necessary facilities will be concentrated within each separate agrological center: cross-docks, trade pavilions, hotels, representative offices of banks, trade enterprises and agricultural companies; as well as services: sorting, sizing, drying, processing, storage, transportation, delivery, customs clearance, quarantine, food safety certification, specialist marketing advice and much more.

According to preliminary calculations, about 10,000 new jobs will be created on the basis of eight agrological centers, namely: more than 3,000 jobs on the territory of Tashkent agrological center with an area of 70-100 hectares (annual capacity of about 760,000 tonnes), another 1,200 jobs in the Samarkand agricultural center with an area of 22 hectares (capacity 492,000 tonnes per year) and 1,200 jobs in Andijan agricultural center with an area of 18 hectares (capacity 410,000 tonnes per year). It is planned to provide 680 jobs on the basis of the Bukhara agricultural center, which will occupy an area of 15 hectares (capacity 200,000 tonnes), as well as on the basis of the Khorezm agricultural center with an area of 10 hectares (capacity 200,000 tonnes). Another 800 jobs will be created on the basis of the agricultural center of Ferghana region with an area of 15 hectares (capacity of 300,000 tonnes) and the agricultural center of Surkhandarya region with an area of 20 hectares (capacity of 300,000 tonnes per year).

“For the well-being of citizens, sustainable development of the agricultural sector is important, which in our country generates a third of the country’s GDP and provides jobs for about 3.6 million people. The assistance that Rungis Semmaris will provide in the construction of modern agrological centers in Uzbekistan will open up new opportunities, directions and even new professions in our agricultural sector, becoming another good indicator of an effective and promising partnership between Uzbekistan and France, which is part of the European Union,” added Minister Jamshid Khojaev.

Rungis Semmaris owns the world’s largest food and logistics center in the suburbs of Paris with an annual turnover of €9 billion and has excellence in building and organizing efficient wholesale food markets around the world.

“We are proud of the signing of this partnership contract and the opportunity to share experience, support Uzbekistan in creating a new generation of agricultural infrastructure. We are inspired by your confidence and willingness to do a lot of work on the modernization of agriculture and the entry of agricultural products of Uzbekistan to the world market,” the head of Rungis Semmaris Stefan Layani said.

Minister Frank Riester expressed confidence that the experienced specialists of Rungis Semmaris will help Uzbekistan discover the full potential and benefits of an effective market network, and also noted that France supports and is ready to support Uzbekistan in the development of such new directions. He stressed the importance of implementing the agreements reached during the official visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to France in October 2018, calling that visit a "starting point" in cooperation between the two countries.