TASHKENT (UzTAG) — France lifted phytosanitary restrictions on imports of Uzbek melons and pomegranates, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan declared.

This was mentioned, in particular, during the official visit of the Uzbek delegation to France to attend the VII meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

During the visit, the Minister of Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan, Jamshid Khodzhaev, held negotiations with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of France, the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the French Department of Phytosanitary and the Institute of Agronomy, Veterinary Medicine and Forestry

The press service of the Minister of Foreign Trade quotes Zh. Khodzhayev:

At present, the non-raw export of the republic to France is presented in insignificant amounts. Basically, this is due to the complexity of the output of domestic products to such a demanding European market. We are negotiating with the European Union and, in particular, with France in order to maximally facilitate the entry of Uzbek products into the European markets by bringing our standards in line with EU requirements. In this way we will be able to realize all the existing export potential of horticultural and textile products.

In addition, the minister visited the Rungis International Market. Following negotiations with the president Stéphane Layani, the parties agreed to organize training seminars and cooperate on accreditation with the aim of promoting fruit and vegetable products to the French market. The Rungis International Market is the principal market of Paris, mainly for food and horticultural products, located in the commune of Rungis, in the southern suburbs. It is the largest wholesale food market in the world.

In turn, the management of Rungis supported the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Trade to organize a visit to Uzbekistan for the purpose of acquaintance with the export potential of the country and studying the possibility of introducing the best practices of France in the sale of agricultural products.