Ministry of Agriculture responds to potato price increase

The Ministry of Agriculture has issued an official statement regarding the recent 13% increase in potato prices in Uzbekistan, reported earlier this month.

According to the Ministry, Uzbekistan's annual potato demand is approximately 4 million tons. In 2024, the country produced a total of 3.7 million tons of potatoes, with 2.7 million tons grown in primary cultivation areas and 1 million tons as a recurrent crop. Of this harvest, 600,000 tons were set aside as seed potatoes for the next planting season, while natural losses accounted for an estimated 100,000 tons (3%).

For the winter and spring of 2024-2025, processing enterprises contracted by local governments stored 245,500 tons of potatoes. Monitoring of these stocks is being conducted via the fsp.agro.uz online platform.

To stabilize prices, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has approved a 10-day network schedule for releasing stockpiled potatoes into the domestic market. This plan has been sent to the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional authorities, and the Tashkent city administration for implementation.

As of January 20, 2025, processing enterprises engaged by local governments have sold 6,300 tons of potatoes to domestic markets, leaving a reserve balance of 239,200 tons.