Value Chains research report Tajikistan final - Microfinance Centre

challenges and lack of experience, many entrepreneurs attempt to export fresh apricots
to the Russia. These risks are generously rewarded within two weeks. However, not all
business attempts succeed, as apricots are a perishable product. When shipping fresh
early apricots to Russia, entrepreneurs face such problems as high ratio of fruit getting
overripe while in transit despite being transported in refrigerated trucks. The reason is
that the fruit is loaded on trucks straight from the field without being cooled first and the
vehicle refrigerator cannot lower the temperature in the middle of the fruit. To avoid this
problem, knowledge needs to be spread among the farmers about the need to pre-cool
the product before loading in the refrigerated trucks or railroad carriages. This precooling,
using either mobile or stationery refrigerated units, is a mandatory practice
worldwide.
Shipping fresh apricots requires special knowledge of the preparation of fruit,
including determination of the ripeness level, sorting, packaging, temperatures, and best
practices of loading into the trucks to ensure circulation of cold air and methods of
dealing with breakages of refrigerating systems in the trucks, a serious problem.
Some entrepreneurs provide logistics services to organize delivery of fresh
apricots or other fruit to the Russian markets. Following the value chain volume of 1
truck of fresh apricot, $6,000 USD at the farmers’ level turns into $30,000 USD at the
retail market 5 . The difference of $24,000 USD includes the cost of crates, freight
forwarding expenses, fuel, about $1,000 USD for customs clearance and paperwork in
Tajikistan, the cost of shipment through transit countries, customs clearance at the
Russian border, all expenses within Russia, and costs of entry and storage in the
market. Thus, the cost of goods sold for early apricots in Russia are $1.80, with the
retail price of Tajik fruit reaching $3 USD.
Fresh fruit can also be shipped via railroad, in refrigerated carriages. This type of
transportation is particularly popular with fresh grapes.
Table 9. Export of Stone Fruits from Tajikistan, 2008 and 2010
2008 2010
Tons Amount, 000’ USD Tons Amount, 000’ USD
Total 1985 1533 1701 1043
Russia 1956 1515 1538 995
Kazakhstan 29 18 54 12
Kyrgyzstan 35 15
Ukraine 73 20
Other countries 1 1
Source: State Statistic Agency of Tajikistan
This table shows that more than 1,700 tonnes of fresh drupaceous (stone fruit) fruit are
annually exported from Tajikistan with a total value of more than one million dollars. The
export volume has been increasing for the last four years, even though it has not
reached the 2004 level when more than 2,636 tonnes of fruit were exported. Most of the
exports are shipped to Russia.
Packaging Fresh Fruit
5 According Pulot Ashurov. He involved in exporting over 30% of volumes fresh apricot exported from Tajikistan.
20