Melons bring sweetness to woes

Uzbekistan grows more than 50 types of the fruits

Vazir: In the giant shed of Uzbek farmer Sanat Kalandarov, a bountiful melon harvest hangs suspended from wooden beams, promising profits through a difficult winter ahead.

Kalandarov is practicing a type of storage that is centuries-old — the shed has been in his own family for three generations — and he is dismissive of younger farmers who are turning to refrigerators.

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“Melons need fresh air to breathe,” 35-year-old Kalandarov said, indicating narrow slits for ventilation in the shed walls, which are thick enough to shield the fruits from the cold of winter and the early spring heat.

These thick-skinned varieties of Uzbekistan’s favourite fruit — some shaped like torpedoes, others more spherical — are planted in May, two months after the melons that ripen in summer.

This year, the melon growing season has been especially good, and it is just as well.According to the ministry of agriculture, an average of 700,000 tonnes of melons are grown annually in Uzbekistan on 35,000 hectares of land.

Shohruh Tolibov, an expert from the ministry, said that exports represent less than 10 percent of that total — some of the sweetest varieties do not travel well. But they will more than double this year and have grown five-fold over the last three years.

This month, the locally-based Jahon Exim Group claimed it had overseen the first exports of Uzbek melons to Britain.”We hope that Uzbek melons, known for their taste and health benefits, will be appreciated by local consumers,” said the company’s director Jahongir Giyasov in comments to local media. Uzbekistan grows more than 50 types of melons.