Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In Kuva district of Ferghana region of Uzbekistan, investors from China built a large modern agro-logistic complex and planted an intensive cherry orchard, EastFruit reported.

The agro-logistic complex called “Yingtai agrocultural food technology” includes refrigerators with a total capacity of 1,500 tons, sorting and drying line for processing 5,000 tons of fruits per year. Finished products in the form of dried fruits and fruit chips are planned to be exported to China, according to a video report by the Uzbekistan 24 TV channel.

In addition, within the framework of this project, Chinese investors planted a modern intensive cherry orchard with an area of 16.4 hectares, located in Kuva district of Ferghana region.

“In Kuva district (Ferghana region), about 200,000 products are grown annually (fruits - EastFruit note), of which only 15,000 tons are processed. This means that the potential for fruit processing in this area is quite large. Many more companies wishing to invest in fruit processing could be attracted. The export of modified and/or processed products is convenient and profitable,” said Akmaljon Khasanov, deputy head of Kuva district, in an interview.

The total cost of this project is US$4.5 million and it is being implemented in two stages. The first stage worth US$1.5 million, which includes the construction of a fruit processing facility with a capacity of 5,000 tons per year, has already been completed. The second stage, worth US$3 million, involves the creation of facilities for deep processing of 15,000 tons of fruit per year, which will increase the output of fruit chips and dried fruits and build a fruit juice production line.

At present, the enterprise is already receiving batches of plums and apples for processing.