Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- According to EastFruit analysts, in 2018, Uzbekistan lost its place in the top three world leaders in terms of persimmon exports, losing to China. In total, over the year, persimmon exports from Uzbekistan amounted to 55,000 tonnes, which was 18,000 tonnes less than in 2017.

Despite the fact that China also reduced the volume of persimmon exports, but it was still able to bypass Uzbekistan in the export rating.

Almost all Uzbek persimmons were supplied to the markets of Kazakhstan and Russia. Significantly less volumes were also exported to Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. However, according to trade sources, significant volumes of persimmon of Uzbek origin, supplied to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, were then re-exported to the Russian market.

At the same time, it is worth noting a significant increase in persimmon shipments from Uzbekistan to Belarus and Ukraine. Exports to Belarus more than tripled to 763 tonnes, and doubled to Ukraine - up to 593 tonnes. A trial batch of Uzbek persimmons was also put on the UAE market.

The leaders of world persimmon exports remained Spain and Azerbaijan, which in 2018 exported 168,300 tonnes and 150,900 tonnes of these fruits, respectively. At the same time, persimmon exports from Spain fell sharply compared to 2017, while exports from Azerbaijan, on the contrary, increased significantly. Presumably, part of the export volume of Azerbaijani persimmons accounted for re-export of fruits from other countries.

The twenty world leaders in terms of export of persimmons from the EastFruit region also included Georgia, Tajikistan and Armenia. All of these countries have increased export supplies.

International trade in persimmons is about 600,000-700,000 tonnes annually in the amount of US$500- US$600 million. At the same time, Russia is the largest global importer by a huge margin. This country annually imports more than 160,000 tonnes of persimmon for US$130 million. The second place is taken by Germany, the third is Kazakhstan, which mainly re-exports persimmons. The leaders also include Ukraine, France, Italy, Belarus, Lithuania, Thailand and Poland.