On 17 July 2019, UZ|UK, The British Uzbek House in collaboration The Embassy of the Uzbekistan to the United Kingdom hosted a roundtable on the export of the organic dried fruits and nuts produced in Uzbekistan.
The roundtable meeting was organised to explore and discuss the focus of the Organic Food Supplies from Uzbekistan directly to the UK Market wholesalers applying the scheme arranged by The British Uzbek House, which aims to simplify the processes related to the banking communications, logistics and the customs procedures in both Uzbekistan and the UK. Project’s experts gave a brief presentation on the pilot actions that will be implemented in London, while potential UK buyers gather to express their views and evaluated the real potential of Uzbek fruits in the UK market as well as the opportunities that similar initiatives bring to the project in general.
The event commenced with presentation of Mr. Mirshod Shakirov, the founder and CEO of UZ|UK, The British Uzbek House in London. The roundtable discussion – moderated by Mr. Ravshan Duschanov (Head, Trade and Investment, The Embassy of Uzbekistan to the UK). Guest speakers of the roundtable were Mr. Simon Melik (Director, Besana UK), Mr. Wais Qais (CEO, AKS), Mr. Kemal Butt (Director, KROS Logistics), Mr. Farrukh Bekmurzaev (Director, LLC Sifatli Sut Mahsulotlari) and Mr. Ashraf Mukhitdinov (Purchasing Manager, Sifatli Sut Mahsulotlari.
“Earlier, everyone else, but us, enjoyed the quality and the price paradise offered by Uzbek farmers. They would buy our organic food in bulk, resell after repacking. This was due to their wide networking contacts, experience, marketing skills and a better banking system. Today, things changed in Uzbekistan. We are now ready to enter the world market directly without any intermediary agents and middleman companies, I highly appreciate the continuous support coming from the Uzbek Embassy in London, the Ambassador HE Mr. A. Shaykhov in particular. In this mission I can see an active involvement of our embassies around the world. The roundtable discussion has helped us understand the real potential of the dried fruit and nuts market value in the UK. It currently makes almost Two Billion Great British Pounds a year. If we could succeed in getting 5% of the UK market share, that it could increase the export value of Uzbekistan for over $120 million a year. “This may not happen instantly, but with focus we can achieve this very soon.” says Mr. Mirshod Shakirov, the founder and the CEO of UZ|UK, The British Uzbek House in London.
