Turkmenistan’s Mive agricultural holding to export cherries to countries of the CIS for the first time this year after local farmers successfully introduced large-scale cultivation of the fruit in the country’s hot climate, MIR 24 correspondent Igor Mosunov reported.
The harvest comes from a 100-hectare orchard at the foot of the Kopetdag mountain range, about 140 km southeast of Ashgabat. Sweet cherry cultivation is a relatively new sector in Turkmenistan, requiring farmers to develop production techniques from scratch.
“Our main task is to maintain the right temperature. First, you have to grow the tree. Second, you have to produce a good harvest. And the most difficult part is harvesting the fruit and delivering it to customers” said Ykhlas Hudaynazarov, director of the Mive orchard complex.
Sweet cherries are considered one of the most demanding fruit crops because they are sensitive to high temperatures and deteriorate quickly after harvesting. To improve fruit quality, the orchard is equipped with a modern irrigation system, while the trees are pruned regularly.
Immediately after harvesting, the cherries are cooled in specialized cold storage facilities to extend their freshness. The fruit is then graded, sorted and packed for shipment.
“We process between 16 and 20 tonnes of fruit a day. After packing, the produce is transferred to long-term cold storage before being shipped to domestic and export markets” said Aman Muradov, chief specialist for cold storage operations.
The same complex previously exported more than 300 tonnes of apples to Russia, Kazakhstan and Georgia. This year, sweet cherries will be added to its export portfolio for the first time, with shipments destined for CIS countries.
