TASHKENT (Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan press service) — The Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev and the President of the French company Rungis Semmaris Stéphane Layani discussed joint agro-logistics projects.

Stéphane Layani

He chairs Semmaris, the semi-public company in charge of the development and management of Rungis Market of National Interest, Europe’s largest wholesale market for fresh food products. A concept that is being exported as far away as Shanghai, Delhi, Brussels, Kiev, Moscow and Dubai.

During negotiations, participation of the French company Rungis Semmaris in 2019-2022 were in regards to the project for the construction of 8 large agro-logistics hubs. The centres will have a capacity of 3 mln tons and will be created on an area of 145 hectares in the Andijan, Bukhara, Jizzakh, Samarkand, Surkhandarya, Tashkent, Fergana, and Khorezm regions of Uzbekistan.

Rungis Semmaris is one of the world’s largest wholesale food markets with turnovers of over $1.5 bln and over 12 bln tons per year.

Jamshid Khodjaev believes further expansion of deep processing of products will give an impetus for further development of their food industry and an increase in exports.

The cost of the project is equal to $244.7 mln. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provides a loan of $197 mln, while Uzbekistan’s own financial contribution to the project is $47.7 million.

Implementation of this project is within the framework of ADB’s Horticulture Value Chain Infrastructure Project in accordance with Uzbekistan’s Presidential Decree № PP-4406 On additional measures for deep processing of agricultural products and further development of the food industry (dated 29 July 2019). It also includes the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan № 761 on Measures to Implement the Project “Development of Infrastructure for the Value Chain in the Horticultural Sector with the Participation of the ADB (dated 11 September 2019).

The meeting also identified specific tasks for the effective implementation of the joint project.