This PPG aims to enhance the competitiveness of Uzbekistan's exports of plants and plant products by ensuring compliance with international standards for phytosanitary measures (ISPMs). The proposed project would enhance the performance of the Uzbekistan Agency of Plant Protection and Quarantine (APPQ), develop its strategy as a competent authority for phytosanitary export certification, and raise awareness on good agricultural practices among relevant stakeholders.
Agriculture plays a highly important role in Uzbekistan's economy, with agricultural land accounting for about 22.3 million hectares. However, agricultural input and output markets are not fully mature in the country. Many farmers, cultivating horticultural crops and vegetables in open fields and greenhouses, alongside entrepreneurs, are unfamiliar with phytosanitary requirements of importing markets and good agricultural practices, as well as other market-reliant activities. This knowledge gap leads to pest outbreaks, crop loss, or incompliance with importing country requirements that competent authorities are unable to solve in a timely and efficient manner.
In January 2020, Uzbekistan became a Contracting Party of the IPPC. The Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation (PCE) tool was utilized to measure the level of compliance with international phytosanitary standards as part of a project funded by USAID's Trade Central Asia (TCA) in 2022 and 2023. The main conclusion drawn from this evaluation is that the existing phytosanitary system is not sufficient to respond to export needs based on the phytosanitary requirements of importing countries. Uzbekistan has received notifications of non-compliance from importing countries, particularly concerning crops such as tomatoes (Keiferia lycopersicella) and host plants of Xylella fastidiosa exported to the EU. These plant pests necessitate active surveillance and diagnostic capacity from the competent authority, yet there is no surveillance program addressing these issues in Uzbekistan.