Global Crisis Hits Kyrgyz Orchards
Apple growers in the northern Issykkul region of Kyrgyzstan fear the market for their produce is disappearing, reports Rita Borbukeeva.
Global Crisis Hits Kyrgyz Orchards
Apple growers in the northern Issykkul region of Kyrgyzstan fear the market for their produce is disappearing, reports Rita Borbukeeva.
Normally farmers would expect to the buyers from Kazakstan and Russia to have arrived by now, but they fear they are not going to come because economic conditions have deteriorated in those countries.
The provincial agriculture department plans to set up special retail markets just over the border in Kazakstan, but so far this has not happened and the apples are beginning to spoil.
At the same time, reporter Nurlan Abdaliev found that the apples on sale not far away in the capital were not Kyrgyz, but imported from abroad – mainly from China, and some from Iran. Sellers say the fruit are more carefully packed and keep much longer. The Kyrgyz ones look less attractive and do not sell as well, although they have not been processed with so many chemicals.
