According to the Federal Customs Service, in 2020 Russia supplied 219 thousand tons of agricultural products to Turkmenistan, which is 2,8 times more than in 2019. In value terms, exports increased by 92% to 142 million dollars.
In 2020, the leading position of Russian agricultural exports to Turkmenistan was sunflower oil. Its shipments grew in physical volume 2,6 times to 38 thousand tons, in monetary terms - 2,9 times to $ 37 million.
There has been an increase in the supply of bottled sunflower oil, says Mikhail Maltsev, executive director of the Oil and Fat Union of Russia. “During the pandemic, in general, there was an increase in purchases of vegetable oil. Last year, Turkmen trading companies expressed interest in supplying Russian sunflower oil on an ongoing basis, and many of our oil and fat enterprises responded to this proposal, "Maltsev commented to Agroexport.
The supply of confectionery products showed an increase of 11% to 5,2 thousand tons in physical terms and by 4,8% to $ 11 million in monetary terms. Chocolate accounted for about 58% of the sales value, 25% flour confectionery and 17% sugar confectionery.
Last year, Turkmenistan significantly increased the import of potatoes from Russia. In January-December, 34 thousand tons were shipped for 11 million dollars, while in previous years the volume of supplies did not exceed 1 thousand tons. As a result, Turkmenistan took the 2nd position among the buyers of Russian potatoes after Ukraine.
The export of margarine grew 1,8 times to 12 thousand tons worth $ 11 million. According to Maltsev, in recent years there has been a positive trend in the supply of Russian fat and oil products to the countries of Central Asia. “In general, the market of the countries of the former USSR is very attractive for us, we are interested in increasing the volume of supplies not only of sunflower oil, but also of other types of fat and oil products,” said the Executive Director of the Fat and Oil Union.
In the first two months of this year, Russian agricultural exports to Turkmenistan decreased in physical terms by 9,5% compared to the same period in 2020 to 13 thousand tons, however, in value terms, they increased by 5,3% to $ 11 million. In January-February 2021 2,4 thousand tons of sunflower oil were shipped to the republic (2,6 times more) in the amount of 3,1 million dollars (3,8 times more), 2,4 thousand tons of sugar (3 times less) in the amount of 1,4 million dollars (2,2 times less), 1,2 thousand tons of margarine (-9,8%) in the amount of 1,3 million dollars (+ 17%).
Turkmenistan is a state of Central Asia, about 80% of the territory of which is occupied by the Karakum Desert. The country's population is estimated to be about 6 million, of which almost half are employed in agriculture. At the same time, due to the arid climate, crop production is extremely limited, the main crops are wheat (1,5 million tons in 2019, according to FAO), cotton (582 thousand tons), tomatoes (357 thousand tons), potatoes ( 316 thousand tons) and watermelons (264 thousand tons). A significant share of agricultural products falls on animal husbandry: in 2019, according to FAO, Turkmenistan produced 1,8 million tons of cow's milk, 147 thousand tons of beef, 129 thousand tons of lamb, 42 thousand tons of wool.
The export of products of the agro-industrial complex of Turkmenistan * in 2019 was estimated at $ 59 million, 39% of this volume accounted for tomatoes, 28% - juice and licorice extract, follows from the ITC Trade Map data. The Republic also exported 4,6 thousand tons of wool for 3,6 million dollars.Imports of food products of Turkmenistan in 2019, according to calculations, amounted to 382 million dollars, the main imported goods were wheat, sugar, tobacco products, sunflower oil and margarine. Russia was the largest food supplier to the country.
According to the Federal Center "Agroexport", the potential for annual deliveries of agricultural products from Russia to Turkmenistan by 2024 is estimated at $ 150 million. flour and cereals industry.