A new UNECE Standard will foster international trade in Dried Apricots. The standard was adopted on 27 June during the session of the Specialized Section on Standardization of Dry and Dried Produce (GE.2), in the presence of the world's largest producer, Turkey, as well as government and industry representatives from some XXX countries.
Representatives from Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan announced their intention to pool their production in the Fergana Valley, an all-family farming area spreading across the three countries where ethnic violence erupted in 2010, to be internationally competitive. The aim is to harmonize the production and national standards with the UNECE standard so that all three countries eventually have the same production base and can pool the crop. GIZ and Hilfswerk Austria International, two donor agencies present at the session, raise and coordinate funds for this project. UNECE is happy to be involved in this exciting project!
Discussions on this unique regional cooperation between the three countries, on how to apply the UNECE standards and on available training tools will continue in 2 weeks time at the UNECE-UNDP workshop on nuts and dried fruit in Tashkent Uzbekistan, with participation of international experts from around the world (USA, Turkey, France, China, Ukraine, Thailand).