In the first four months of 2022, Turkmenistan increased its imports of apples from Iran by 22 times compared to the same period last year, EastFruit reports .

Turkmenistan purchased 19.5 thousand tons of Iranian apples and entered the top five importers of this fruit from Iran.

“In general, the export volumes of apples from Iran in the first months of 2022 lag behind last year by approximately 19%, which is due to a decrease in the apple harvest in the country in 2021 due to the negative impact of spring frosts. However, deliveries to the countries of Central Asia, where there were also frosts and also reduced crops, rose sharply because prices were high here. An additional incentive for the growth of supplies was the cessation of shipments of apples from Ukraine at the end of February, after Russia invaded the territory of this country with its army and blocked the supply, ”quotes EastFruit Andriy Yarmak , an economist at the investment department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) .

The sharp increase in purchases compared to last year is explained by the fact that in January-March 2021, the Turkmen-Iranian border was closed due to quarantine measures taken to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The opening of a checkpoint on the border with Iran in October last year led to a decrease in prices for vegetables and fruits in the markets of Turkmenistan.

Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan