The Central Asian region has a high potential to produce fresh and dried fruit and vegetables, and dried fruit and nuts are already important export products from several countries in the region, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. However, the region is facing challenges to diversify its export markets and to tap higher-end markets.

International standards such as the UNECE standards for fresh fruit and vegetables and for dry and dried Produce play an important role in facilitating trade and expanding access to new markets. Enabling producers to implement international standards can help increase exports and thus incomes.

In 2018, the Central Asian Working Central Asian Workgroup to Promote Exports of Agricultural Produce (CAWG) was established as a collaborative platform between representatives of the public and private sectors in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Its objective is to harmonize approaches to implement international standards of commercial quality, food safety, as well as other tools aimed at increasing product recognition and maintain cross-border contacts on these issues.

At the 2022 session of the UNECE Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards the representative of CAWG requested the Working Party to organize practical trainings on (i) methods and tools for inspections and sampling for fresh fruit and vegetables, and on (ii) methods and tools for inspections and sampling of dry and dried produce. This workshop is being organized in response to this request.

The workshop aims to build capacity of public and private sector entities to understand the requirements of foreign markets, and to build domestic capacity to inspect against UNECE standards.

The target group is representatives of relevant government agencies for standardization and metrology as well as export-oriented companies and other relevant public and private sector organizations in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan involved with standard setting, inspections and trade of fresh fruit and vegetables and dried fruit and nuts.

For more details, please contact:

Ms. Marit Nilses
Economic Affairs Officer
Secretary to the Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards

Contact: [email protected]