Director General, National Academic Centre of Agrarian Research

Republic of Kazakhstan

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all let me to express our gratitude to the heads of the FAO/AGSI for identification Kazakhstan and its south capital Almaty as a venue of the Regional Workshop for the countries of Central Asia and Caucasus.

The issues of Agenda are equally urgent for all countries-participants of the Workshop. An appraisal of the post-harvest status and its development perspectives determination has the most important significance both from scientific and applied points to provide safety, security and sustainability foodstuff delivery to customers. Our target is not only summarize and show weak features of the post-harvest, but also determines priorities and elaborate plan of actions, which could be proposed to governments of our countries.

The wish to attend the Regional workshop on post-harvest sector development expressed all countries except Turkmenistan. So, this survey is based both on the information presented by Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), Caucasus countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia) and on the prior experience of close cooperation in the agrarian research.

For fair each of these countries is different by their specifity: natural, economic, demographical. But we have a lot of common things. We all have left the same �nest� � former Soviet Union, economic system, of which has dictated its own regulations. Under administrative dictate of labour differentiation in each republic the specialization of agricultural industry was formed. For Kazakhstan it is grain, for Uzbekistan � cotton plants, for Georgia � grape and subtropical crop categories and etc. Naturally, processing industry, agrarian mechanical engineering, research institutions, i.e. the whole post-harvest sector slaved to the agricultural specialization. After Soviet Union collapse agriculture and branches of the post-harvest sector of all our countries exposed the deep economic crisis. And only now after 5-7 years of downturn the revival is commenced. Practically, according to statistical indicators in all countries a sustainable growing is noted.

Workshop participants could be agreed that there is not need to make detail presentation of each sub-region or country. Such opportunities have sub-regional coordinators and other participants. I�ll try to highlight the most general features of status and priorities of the post-harvest development in our countries. I would like to notice that it is not easy because there are not complete answers on all issues planned of the programme in the information we got.

From the initial point the area of agricultural lands and population density could be characterized (slide 1). From the data it follows that Kazakhstan has the biggest territory and 18 hectares per capita, the minimum in Armenia � 0,8 hectares. Difference is in 22 times. This one is much more if the area of agricultural lands compares.

Due to natural conditions Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Georgia are typical countries of the mountain agriculture.

1. General characteristic of the countries

Specialization of the agricultural industry is closely connected to natural conditions and arable lands accessibility. On slide 2 the main specialization over countries is indicated. Despite the limit of land resources, especially in Caucasus, an agriculture is diversified. The categories of crops, which have an export potential are mainly shown in table 2.

2. The main categories of crops grown

The main crops growing in Kazakhstan are wheat, winter and summer, rye, barley, oats, maize, millet, buckwheat, rice, cotton plants, sugar beet, sun flower, potato, vegetables and melons. Fruits and berries are growing. More than 75% of all sowing cereal crops are placed, among them the wheat is on first place: winter � 605 thousand hectares, summer � 9523,9 thousand hectares (2000).

The main areas of grain-crops are located in three northern regions � Kostanay, Northern-Kazakhstan and Akmola (about 11 million hectares or 63%). Their areas are significant in the west side � Aktobe and western-Kazakhstan regions (about 2,2 million hectares or 13%) and in the east � in Pavlodar and Eastern-Kazakhstan region (about 1,9 million hectares or 11% of all sowings in the republic.

About two third of industrial crops are placed in the east of country � in Eastern-Kazakhstan and Pavlodar region (sun flower mostly), sugar beet (industrial) are growing � in Almaty and Zhambyl region.

Potato, vegetables and melons are growing in all regions of Kazakhstan, except western remote areas. The large potato plantation is located in Northern-Kazakhstan, Almaty, East-Kazakhstan, Pavlodar and Karagandy regions, vegetables � in Southern-Kazakhstan, Almaty, Eastern-Kazakhstan, Zhambyl regions. Annually melon crops areas are placed in Southern-Kazakhstan and Kyzyl-Orda regions. Rice is only growing in Kyzyl-Orda region, and cotton plants � in Southern-Kazakhstan region. Fruit and berry plantations are located mostly in Southern-Kazkhstan and Almaty regions, which are about two third of all area in the country.

Plant cultivation of Kyrgyzstan is characterized by wide diversity by crops growing. The industrial crops; sugar beet, cotton, tobacco take the important place in the Agrarian Industrial Complex, their areas are accordingly 25, 35 and 15 thousand hectares.

Horticulture (50 thousand hectares), grape growing (10,000 hectares), potato growing (65 thousand hectares) and vegetables growing (55 thousand hectares) are important agricultural fields in Kyrgyzstan.

The main agricultural crops in Uzbekistan are cotton, grain, vegetables and fruits of all species except sub-tropical, grape, potato, melons.

Agriculture provides about 90% of food. Uzbekistan imports only separate kinds of the foodstuff - sugar, tea, vegetable oil. Prior independence the flour and flour stuffs, potato and cattle breeding production were imported. In 1994 the Programme on grain independence has been adopted and at present the country population provides flour and flour stuffs of local producing. Only non-significant quantity of hard species of wheat is imported. The state population provides rice and potato of the only local production. The areas of gardens and vineyards are expanded. These ones have been forwarded to private persons for leasing.

In valleys, foot hills and mountain zones the follows vegetables: potato, onions, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, sugar beet, garlic, greens and spices, water melons, melons, pumpkins; fruits: apricots, apples, pear, peach, plump, cherry, sweet cherry, almond, walnut, orient persimmon, lemon, oranges, sea-buckthorn and a number of other cherry cultures, grape of table, resins and vine and technical species are growing.

The vegetables produced are provided all needs of population in that.

Fruit and vegetable crops take an important place in the economy of the republic. Since transition to the new economic relations, farm�s organization, joint stocks and other kinds of production organization, fruit and vegetables production became to place one of the leading positions in the agricultural industry. That could engage definite part of population in this branch. New orchards and vineyards were planted in their farms.

In Azerbaijan from historical times grain, raw cotton, tobacco, grapes, vegetables, fruits, potato, citrus and other crops were and are growing.

In Armenia plant growing is mainly presented by cereals. They occupy the major part of plough lands (190 thousand hectares). Winter and spring wheat mainly dominates and only 30% of areas are occupied by barley. Fruit occupies the second place for the area of cultivation. They are presented by fruit cultures (20 thousand hectares) and grapes (15-16 thousand hectares). Apricots, apples, peaches, nuts, cherry and plump prevail in fruit cultures. Potato cultivation occupies the third place (33 thousand hectares), followed by vegetables: tomato, eggplants, cucumbers, onions, cabbage, carrot, beet, pepper and rich variety of greens.

In Georgia high indicatives are especially in cereals� production. In 1995-1997 annually there were produced 700 thousand tons of cereals or 19,6 centner per hectare.

In the number of perspective groups of foodstuffs in the country the most importance has maize because it takes one of the leading places in the population meal. The mostly important crops are grape, tea, ether and oil containing plants, which basically might be used for manufacture of competitive production for export. Along with perspective plants a significant input into the employment, meal improvement and food safety increase potato and sugar sorghum might be played.

It should be noted that in 90-s the structural, economical and social changes took place because of transition to new market relations. In the process of reforms in the countries of Central Asia and Caucasus agricultural activity has been reduced in different proportions that led to significant fall of the production of all crops categories. Thus, in Kazakhstan the lands sowed earlier are transformed into pastures and hey lands, and into fallow. Generally over the country area of lands used in agrarian industry was ceased on 127,7 million hectares ore more than in two times, including sowing ones - on 14,2 million hectares or in 1,7 times. In comparison with pre-reforms period the volume of the gross agricultural production was significantly decreased, number of people engaged in agriculture was decreased into more than two times.

In Georgia, for example, in 1995 the total cost of agricultural production decreased on 75% in comparison with 1986-1990. Manufacture in food industry has been catastrophically felt down: vine production into 4 times, fruits and vegetables - into 27 times, tea - into 20 times, meat and meat products - into 45 times, milk and diary products - into 29 times.

Agrarian policy in all countries was targeted into provision of population by primary need foodstuffs. Therefore cereals (except Kazakhstan), potato and some vegetable planted areas were expanded.

By time of market reforms the forms of economy in agriculture have been deeply changed in all countries. Kolhoz-sovhoz system has changed to private economy: Joint Stocks, economy partnerships, cooperatives, peasant economy.

In Kazakhstan the less labour consuming crops, growing of which more mechanized, such as cereals and forgers, are mostly concentrated in the large corporative type�s enterprises (about 70% of sowing areas); the most of such profitable crops as cotton plants and sun flower are located in peasant economy (farms): 76 and 61 %, respectively; private population units dealing with growing of crops requiring great labour consuming (potato, vegetables). For that works both elder people and teenagers involve. Here 83% of potato and 68% of vegetables are growing.

In the Kyrgyz Republic about 70 thousands farms and peasant units, more than 600 cooperatives, unions and associations have been set up. A total rate of agricultural products in 1999-2000 in state farms was 2% of the total volume, in collective farms � 9,3%, in private farms and peasant farms � 38,7% and in individual farms � 50%.

In Uzbekistan cotton and grains production is mostly concentrated in agricultural cooperatives and farms, and peasant units provide 70% of the country�s foodstuff.

In Armenia instead 900 kolkhozes and sovkhozes, the peasant farms emerged, number of which is exceed 335 thousand. These farms are of small sizes and subsistence farming.

Post-harvest sector�s character brief.

Food-processing industry of Kazakhstan, after deep recession last years, increases volumes of production. In the branch the updating of a fixed capital, developments of new kinds of production, its quality improvement take place. However, available positive tendencies in the field are connected to manufactures that are not mostly oriented for processing of agricultural raw material. It is, first of all, manufacture of alcoholic and fruit drinks, beer, packing of tea, sunflower oil bottling etc. Sugar industry is more and more involved into processing of imported sugar raw.

To a lesser degree crisis took place in milling industry. Kazkhstan has a powerful net of elevators and milling enterprises, plants and shops on processing of fruits, berries and vegetables. But they use out-of-date technologies and packing materials. The significant modernisation of these enterprises� technological lines is required.

In Kyrgyzstan (as in the other countries) all main post-harvest sector enterprises are privatised. Submission of the survey of post-harvest sector due to data lacking does not possible. It is noted that the unified post-harvest sector�s chain was not set up.

Uzbekistan post-harvest sector has also a lot of non-solved problems both in technological and organising structural issues.

Vegetables growing in Tajikistan are basically delivered to the table of population during ripening according to scheme �field-consumer�. At in-seasonal time: end of autumn, winter and early spring distribution of the fresh vegetables, fruits and grapes is significantly reduced because of lack of capacities for their long storage and insufficient processing in the industrial plants. The main production of the processing industry�s plants is tomato products, fruit and vegetable juices, cans and vine materials. The significant part of processing lines and large enterprises have outdated technology, therefore production�s quality is low, new packing materials inaccessible. Advertising institutions net is poor developed. Participation with presentations in the intergovernmental and international auctions is not enough. Access to the new technologies is limited by weak connections with other partners. Input�s increase of food and vegetable stuffs� small producers into customers� demands and intention to store yield grown and effective use of land, water and material resources are observed.

In Armenia milling industry, baking industry and feed mill industry are well developed. There exist 39 milling enterprises. Productive capacity of four of them exceeds 500 tons/day. Only inconsiderable part of potato is processed. Potato is kept in the small storehouses of the peasant farms and in large refrigerating storehouses, which productive capacity greatly exceeds the quantity of storage crops of potato, fruit, grape and vegetables. In average nearly 57.5-60 million conventional fruit and vegetable jars are processed and produced yearly. But, the existing productive capacity exceeds the needs. These plants have the designed capacity of 475.1 mln conventional jars a year. The greatest share among canned vegetable belongs to canned tomato. Eggplants, cucumbers are also often canned. The necessary productive capacities are available both for tobacco raw materials fermentation (3 fermentation plants) and for production of highly qualified cigarettes. There are 35 wine plants and 4 plants for wine bottling in the republic. Most of them entered the "Ararat� enterprise (17 wine plants, 3 cognac plants, 1 - champagne plant, and the enterprises in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Saratov). The level of wine and cognac enterprises capacity use varies from 20 to 25%, some plants having even more variety.

As participants of the workshop are mostly represented by scientists the characteristic of the research status is reasonable.

For Kazakhstan the urgent challenges in the field of storage and processing of the agricultural foodstuff are developments of wasteless and ecologically friendly technologies of the deep processing of plants� growing products to get new foodstuffs including childe and medical and preventive ones.

It should be emphasized that Kazakhstan due to support of President and Government has maintained and consolidated somehow the net of the research institutions dealing with study of the post-harvest. All former branches of the Soviet Union�s institutes were transformed into the national institutes. Their material base is improved in frames of the funding opportunities. In the implementation of the progamme on scientific securing of these issues the specialized institutes such as Kazakh Research Institute of Grain and Its Processing Products, Astana city and its branch in Almaty, Kazakh Research Institute of Food Industry, Almaty city and a number of laboratories and divisions of the research institutions of the NACAR and technological universities of the country are participated.

Research and experimental development on improvement of technologies and equipment for industrial crops processing conduct in the Kazakh Research Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture, Tselinuy Research Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture and Dulati Taraz State University. In the Kazakh Research Institute of Fruit Growing and Viticulture the methods on fruits storage in modified gas atmosphere are developed. These ones provide the 85-90% yield of standard production, nutritive value maintenance up to 85% from initial, period of storage � 6-7 months. Kazakh Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming develop potato storage combined methods.

Kazakh Research Institute of Food Industry carries on research on bear and soft drink, bakery, confectionery, starched and treacly, food cannery, food microbiology, and in the field of standardization and certification of food industry.

Research is supporting by Government and funding mainly from state budget. Private sector finances insufficient number of research proposals.

The mostly important research results, technical and technological developments are presented in the communications of the workshop participants.

The special role of the research organizations of the Agrarian Academy and enterprises of the Kyrgyz Ministry of agriculture, water economy and processing industry noticed in the materials of Kyrgyz Republic. The research and development in post-harvest sector have not conducted because of lacking of funds and specialists. There are not specialized post-harvest units and cemtres in the Republic.

In survey presented by Uzbekistan a status of research in post-harvesting sector does not identified.

Research in Tajikistan is carried out in insufficient volumes in the labs of some enterprises, in the Central Lab of the corporation �Hurokvory� and in the Research and Industrial Association �Bogparvar� of the Tajik Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Staff education and training are carried out in the number of the higher education institutions of the Republic of Tajikistan (chairs, faculties, divisions).

Poor material basis and relations scientific research in the field of fruits and vegetable production is limited by fragmentary, uncoordinated efforts, which feedback is not enough. Research conducted is applied mainly.

The sources of support of the research in many cases are contribution of the processing enterprises themselves - self-funding. Additionally very often it is not regular and enough funding.

Post-harvest research in Armenia conducts in the follows fields:

1. Development and use of complex modifiers for bread
2. Development of technology for fruit and vegetable powders production
3. Development of new kind of pectin raw materials
4. Development of the technology of rapid freezing small-cut fruit
5. Development and practical use of solar dry installations in different regions of

Armenia for various kinds of raw materials

6. Development of new kinds of desert liqueurs and balsams on the basis of

local fruit and spicy-aromatic raw materials

7. Development of the technology for semi-sweet wine production out of

Wasteless theory of geranium raw materials processing is worked out.

At present technologies for production of child nourishment, new kinds of food products derivation out of fruit and vegetable powders are being developed. Research on organic acids and sugary products synthesis out of fructans by micro-organisms, for defining the perspective directions of black Armenian grape processing is carried out. Scientific and research work in PHS is mainly of applied character. The financial sources are state budget and small foreign sponsors grants.

Extension service is absent in PHS. Implementation of work-outs is spontaneous on the basis of developers� enthusiasm.

In Georgia there is a wide network of the research institutions, which can provide scientific promotion to firms and organisation in the field of creation of the competitive production (research, production development, analytical service).

In the system of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences fundamental and applied research are carries on. Government supports mainly research. Specialized Post Harvest unions and centres are existed in the basic branches of the food industry.

Over Azerbaijan the data on post-harvest research were not presented. At the same time it is underlined that in the republic in any research on improvement of the food security in post-harvest sector of the World Bank, IMF, TASIS and other organizations were not involved.

The brief survey of the post-harvest sector of our countries shows that along with different features we have a lot of common problems, which should be solved in the nearest future. Thus, I would like to consider them from common for our countries position as it is accepted in the world practice in the follows aspects:

Threats to Development

Strength of the Post-harvest Sector

Weakness of the Post-harvest Sector

Constraints and Opportunities to the development of the post harvest-sector

3. Threats to the Post-harvest Development

• Lacking of the transport�s roads to the potential food markets
• No access to number of world markets for states of Central Asia and Caucasus
• No regulations in market relations
• Competitiveness and protectionism in the world markets
• Low purchasing capacity of the traditional markets

4. Strength

• Sufficient for agricultural development land resources (Kazakhstan) and favorite natural conditions (abundance of sun shine and warmth)
• Cheap labour, qualified staff surplus
• Rural population�s education high level
• The initial industrial basis for storage and processing of crops
• Transport communications for development of the interstate trade of the agricultural stuffs in the CIS frames
• Traditional population habits on the initial processing of fruits and vegetables
• High quality of the plant stuffs (small doses of fertilizers and pesticides)
• Having formed private economy sector interested in development of the effective agribusiness
• Developed science - research and educational institutions conducting research and training staff

5. Weakness

• In-completion of the market transformations
• Lacking of the effective state policy
• Out-of-date technologies in processing branches,
• Modern packing materials deficiency
• Corruption and abuse of officials
• Poor marketing and management
• Unemployment
• Water deficiency and insufficient development of irrigation system
• Weather and climate in-stability

6. Post-harvest sector development constraints by

• Water resources deficit to get complete crops yield (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan)
• Low purchasing capacity of population in the internal market
• Outdated processing technologies, filling, foodstuffs packing, poor technical capacities of the processing plants and workshops
• Deficit of the investment sources for technical improvement of enterprises of processing and food industry; banks reluctantly credit both farmers and post-harvest sector
• Insufficient access to scientific developments because of lacking extension service
• Management system on each special market does not under modern requirements
• Use of out-of-date standards on agricultural raw material and foodstuffs out of world level
• Lacking of the special transport facilities, poor roads, poor and expensive communication service.
• Internet connections have only large firms

Despite to crisis, each country-participant has huge potential opportunities to the accelerating development of agriculture and post-harvest sector.

7. Opportunities to the development of the post-harvest sector

• Sufficient for agricultural development land resources (Kazakhstan) and favorite natural conditions (abundance of sun shine and warmth)
• Qualified staff surplus
• The initial industrial basis for storage and processing of crops
• Rural population�s high level of education
• Transport communications to the development of the interstate trade of the agricultural stuffs in the CIS frames
• Traditional population habits on the initial processing of fruits and vegetables
• Having formed private economy sector interested in development of the effective agribusiness
• Research and educational institutions conducting research and training staff

Central Asia Region includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The total territory of the countries is 3994 thousand square kilometers.

All countries have expressed their wish to participate in the Regional Workshop towards Strengthening the Post Harvest Sector except Turkmenistan.

Territory is 2 724,9 thousand square kilometers, population is 14,9 million, including 6,6 million countryside population. Total square of the lands used in agricultural purposes is 92,9 million hectares, including 19,5 million (18,3%) of arable lands, 2,4 million hectares (2,2%) of haymaking, 71 million hectares (66,5%) of pastures.

Highly expressed horizontal and vertical zoning of soil and plant cover characterize Kazakhstan.

In forest steppe and steppe zones there 10%, in half deserted and deserted � about 60%, in mountain zones � about 5% of all lands.

Climate is severely continental with long and cold winter and relatively hot and short summer. Period of vegetation is lasting from 105 to 165 days becoming longer from north to south. Sum of the positive temperatures (more than10^oC) in forest steppe zone of the Northern Kazakhstan is 2500 and increases to south up to 4500 ^oC.

All agricultural zones of Kazakhstan are characterized by law quantity of the yearly sedimentation �150-320 millimeters. Only in steppe belt of foothills, medium mountain and high mountain regions the average of yearly precipitation is higher � between 460 and 880 millimeters.

Diversity of soil and climatic zones and their biological and climatic potential, genetic possibilities of the local selected species of rural crops is allowed to develop successfully the main branches (plants growing and husbandry), to provide completely population of the republic with the mostly important foods and industry with raw materials.

Climate asperity, soil�s low quality, precipitation insufficiency are pre-determined the need of higher expenditures on industry and decrease competitiveness of the agricultural products of Kazakhstan on the world market.

In process of reforms in the republic an agricultural activity was shrunk that led to the cultivated lands decrease. The lands cultivated before transformed to pastures and haymaking, and virgin soils.

In perspective in the republic the lower square of arable lands will be used, but on more productive soils. On other hand Kazakhstan should exploit wider its rich natural resources to develop market of the competitive agricultural crops and husbandry.

Countryside population is dispersed over all the territory of Kazakhstan in 7164 places. In average there are 971 people in one settlement. The more countryside density is observed in regions of the intensive cultivation and low � in zones of pasture husbandry.

Among countryside citizens about 3 million are in employable age, including 657 thousand or 22% engaged in agricultural manufacture. Part of people is working in social and municipal service spheres, trade, consumer service, state management.

Kyrgyz Republic is placed in the north-east part of Central Asia and has borders with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. Its territory � 199, 9 sq. km; 95% of the territory is covered by mountains, 90% of the territory is located 1500 meters above sea-level, 54 % of the land fond is occupied by agricultural lands, 34% - reserves, communities, roads, cliffs and etc.; 4,3% - water space, 5,3 � wood lands, 2,4 � others. Country population is 5 million. Density of population is 25 persons per sq. km.

Agricultural lands are covered 10,6 million hectares, including 1,4 million hectares of arable lands(850 thousand hectares of irrigated, bogharic � 550 thousand hectares), 9,3 million hectares arable lands and hayfields.

With aim to solve problems of the economy development in the republic the Programme �Complex Foundation of the Kyrgyzstan Development to 2010� has been adopted in the National Meeting on 29.05.2001. There it is envisaged:

2. poverty alleviation in 2 times;

2. GNP growth per capita in 2 times;

2. Inflation decrease to 5% per year and etc.

Kyrgyz Republic is an agrarian and industrial country. Agriculture is the leading branch of the national economy, which brings 42-48% into the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). At present 65% of population or 3,250 million people are employed in agriculture.

Traditionally Uzbekistan is agrarian-industrial country. Over 24 million live in Uzbekistan, over 60% of them � in the rural area. Over 44% of employable population is engaged in agriculture. The agrarian sector and related branches of industry produce over 60 % of the gross domestic product (GDP). The agricultural sector alone gives about 30% of GDP and over 50% currency receipts of the country.

Republic of Tajikistan is a mountain country. The total square is 143000 square kilometers. Mountains cover 3 % of the Tajikistan territory, and only 7% is a share of valleys. Climate is hot continental. Absolute minimum in valleys is -27^o C, maximum +45^oC. Agriculture is mainly irrigated. Number of population is 6,1 millions human persons. About 70% of population is inhabited country side. Tajikistan is agrarian and industrial country. Population of the republic is mainly concentrated in valleys and foot hills� zones and dealing with agriculture .Together with manufacture of agricultural production in Central and Sogdy (former Leninabad) regions the enterprises processing agricultural (fruits and vegetables) products are concentrated. There are small capacity canneries in Hatlon region where the main direction of the agricultural industry is cotton production. Here about 2,2 million people live.

The basic food crops cultivated in Kazakhstan are wheat winter and summer, rye, barley, oat, corn, millet, buckwheat, rice, cotton plants, sugar beet, sunflower, potatoes, vegetable and melons. Fruit and berries and grapes are growing. More than 75 % of all crops is occupied grain crops, among them on the first place is wheat: winter - 605 thousand hectares, summer - 9523,9 thousand hectares (in 2000).

The main areas of grains are located in three northern areas - Kostanay, Northern-Kazakhstan and Akmola (almost 11 million hectares or 63 %). Their areas in the west of the country - in the Aktyubinsk and Western Kazakhstan regions (about 2,2 million hectares or 13 %) and in the east - in Pavlodar and Eastern Kazakhstan regions (almost 1,9 million hectares or 11 % of all crops in republic) are significant.

Almost two thirds of technical crops are placed in the east of the country - in the Eastern Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions (basically - sunflower), the sugar beet (factory) is cultivated in the south of the country - in Almaty and Zhambyl regions.

Distribution of the sowing area of agricultural foodstuff by categories of facilities and volume of production, made by them, shows that the most essential features of this distribution are: i) less labour-consuming foodstuff, which cultivation is more mechanised, - grain and fodder - are mainly concentrated in the large enterprises (about 70 % of their sowing areas); ii) majority of such a profitable crop as cotton plant and sunflower are concentrated in farmer facilities: 76 and 61 %, accordingly; iii) Population home facilities dealing with growing of foodstuff requiring a lot of manual work (potato, vegetables). For this purpose the work both elderly members of families and teenagers is involved. In these facilities 83 % of a potato and 68 % of vegetables are growing.

Thus, in Kazakhstan there are sufficient natural resources to provide manufacture of food raw material in wide assortment. There are opportunities for cultivation of crops, which were not still growing (for example, peanut) or expansion of manufacture of crop categories, which are growing in insignificant volume (for example, soy-been, fruits, grapes) earlier. These products can be competitive in the internal and world markets.

The branch is identified by wide diversity and high level of specialization and concentration of the main species of plant and other production. In such case natural and climatic conditions and industrial specialization is determinate factor. The most important technical categories of crops such as white beet, cotton, tobacco take the significant place in the economy of the Agrarian-Industrial Complex. Irrigated lands under them are covered 25 thousand hectares, 35 thousand hectares and 15 thousand hectares respectively.

The main factors, which provide continual growth of grain and technical categories of crops, are high level of selection and genetic work of Kyrgyz Agrarian Academy, which allow creating new, highly productive species and hybrids, their cultivation under progressive technology based on constant growth of the soil fertility. Production and usage of the high reproduction seeds (super elite, elite, and 1 reproduction) are under control of the Agrarian Academy.

But in 1995-1997 due to financial and material resources limitations, breaking of the crop rotations and deterioration of soil reclamation, state the agricultural crop yields� drop down took place, which is clear from the table below.

The manufacture level of the plant-growing products over Kyrgyz Republic in 2000 was (in thousand tons):

In result of reforms in agrarian sector a multi-sectored economy with different privacy forms and economy has been formed. Now, about 70 thousands farms and peasant units, more than 600 cooperatives, unions and associations have been set up. A total rate of agricultural products in 1999-2000 in state farms was 2% of the total volume, in collective farms � 9,3%, in private farms and peasant farms � 38,7% and in individual farms � 50%.

Horticulture (50 thousand hectares), viticulture (10- thousand hectares), potato-growing (65 thousand hectares) and vegetable-growing (55 thousand hectares) are the important branches of the agricultural industry of Kyrgyzstan. Efficiency of these branches should be provided not only by crop yields and gross production rising and, but also by implementation of wasteless technologies allowing to use in maximum all production has been grown. For above, in country the functioning net of cooperative unions with integrated processes of manufacture, transportation, storage, processing and realization of fruit and vegetables and other production should be set up.

According to strategy �Complex Foundation of Kyrgyzstan Development for 2010� investing by World Bank it is supposed that manufacture level of the agricultural production in 2010 will be doubled.

The main agricultural crops are cotton, cereals, vegetables and all kinds of fruits, except sub-tropical, grapes, potato and melons.

Husbandry presents by cattle breeding and small cattle breeding, horse breeding, camel breeding, swine breeding and poultry breeding.

The agriculture is a source of about 90% of foodstuff. Consequently the population of the country is provided with foodstuff, in general, by agriculture. Uzbekistan imports only particular kinds of foodstuff � sugar, tea, vegetable oil. Before gaining the independence flour and flour products, potato and livestock farming products were imported in large quantities, though this kinds of products could be produced in Uzbekistan in a large quality. However the existing specialization in the former Soviet Union did not allow developing these branches. Uzbekistan has assigned a part of raw cotton producing appendage.

After gaining the independence all agriculture had to be rearranged anew both in the system of organization of labour and management and crop pattern of agricultural sowing.

First of all the issue of improvement of agricultural management structure was considered. The existing collective farms and state farms were abolished. The manufacture of agricultural products was assigned to the non-state sector. Now three main forms of farming are functioning side by side: agricultural co-operatives (shirkats) as a large form of commodity producers, farms as a medium form of commodity producers and dehkan�s (peasant�s) farms as a small form of commodity producers. Currently they produce over 98% of the agricultural products of the country.

The government made a decision to develop along with other sectors of industry those agricultural sectors, too, the products of which were previously imported.

Thus, in 1994 the Program of grain independence of country was adopted and now population of the country is provided with flour and flour products of own manufacture. Only a small quantity of durum variety of wheat is imported. The population of the country is provided with rice and potato of totally own production. Areas of orchards and vineyards were increased that ones were forwarded for lease to private people. All former cattle breeding farmers were privatized and sold for private use through auctions.

In this way structural changes in production of agricultural products of the country were made.

Now the production of cotton and cereals are concentrated, in general, in agricultural cooperatives and farms, and dehkans� (peasants�) farms there are produced over 79% of foodstuff of the country.

Such a structure of management and production predetermines the specific character of the post-harvesting sector of the branch.

In valleys, foot hills and mountain zones the follows vegetables: potato, onions, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, sugar beet, garlic, greens and spices, water melons, melons, pumpkins; fruits: apricots, apples, pear, peach, plump, cherry, sweet cherry, almond, walnut, orient persimmon, lemon, oranges, sea-buckthorn and a number of other cherry cultures, grape of table, resins and vine and technical species are growing.

In Tajikistan about 400-450 tons of vegetables, 230 tons of potato, 140 thousand fruits and 160 thousand tons grape are growing. The vegetables produced are provided the needs of population in that. Provision of population by own potato is 70%, fruits - xx%, grape - xx%.

Fruit and vegetable cultures take an important place in the economy of the republic. Since transition to the new economic relations, farm�s organization, joint stocks and other kinds of production organization, fruit and vegetables production became to place one of the leading position in agricultural industry. That could engage definite part of population in this branch. New lands were started to exploit new gardens and vineyards were planted in their farms. But at present needed pace of planting squares and fruits and vegetables production growing does not observed, because of economic and technical difficulties. Nevertheless definite part of population has been engaged exactly in this sector of agricultural manufacture.

Vegetables, potato, fruits and grape produced and products of their processing take the second place in the Gross Domestic Product after cotton production.

Growing of fruit and vegetable production at present time is the main source of life-support. That is the reason of people intention to increase in more scales volumes of production of fruits and vegetables for own consumption and for supply to other categories of consumers.

From a beginning of realisation of reforms in an agriculture of the republic the steady tendencies characterised by recession of volumes of agricultural production. A deep crisis became the consequence of this branch, manufacture in which for years of reforms was reduced more than in 2 times.

In the whole food-processing industry, after deep recession last years, increase volumes of production. The rate of branch in general industrial manufacture has grown from 9,9 % in 1994 up to 19,0 % in 1999. In the branch there is updating of a fixed capital, development of new kinds of production, its quality improvement. However, available positive tendencies in the branch are connected to manufactures that are not oriented for processing of agricultural raw material and production. It, first of all, manufacture of alcoholic and fruit drinks, beer, packing of tea, sunflower oil bottling etc.

Sugar industry is more and more involved into processing of imported sugar raw.

To a lesser degree crisis took place in milling industry. The recession of manufacture in 1999 in comparison with 1990 was a bit more than 30 %, which is caused by increase of a share of bread and other products from flour in a diet of the population.

Manufacture of groats for this period has decreased almost in 5 times, that is connected to significant reduction of the gross collection of the grain crops.

There is a spread network of processing and food enterprises:

0. Mills and bakery;

0. Dairy shops and factories;

0. Butcheries and slaughterhouses;

0. Processing of fruit and berry production and fruit canneries;

0. Factories and shops on vegetable oil production.

Processing of grain, milk and meat are branches, traditional for Kazakhstan. The large processing enterprises are dispersed on the regional and district�s centres. They have sufficient capacities for satisfaction of needs of the population of regions. The essential modernisation of technological lines of these enterprises is required.

Besides some exceptions, development of a food industry in the surveyed areas, as well as in Kazakhstan as a whole, in the last years are characterised by sharp fall of manufacture at large processing factories, which belonged to the state before.

Some of the reasons of manufacture fall, except economic problems of agricultural sector it is necessary to search in that took place:

0. The termination of selling of products in Russia and other CIS countries;

0. Policy of Government supporting "�mini-manufactures" on processing of agricultural production;

0. Liberal policy of foodstuffs� import.

In Kazakhstan industrial processing of fruits and vegetables is mainly concentrated in Southern Kazakhstan and Almaty region. All the fruit and vegetable cans industry is completely privatized. In their regions where fruits and vegetable are growing sufficient industrial capacities for their processing exist, partly they are equipped on the world standard level. A further modernization of these enterprises is going on.

Presentation of the Overview of the post-production chain is impossible because of the data lacking.

In 1993-1997 the main state establishments such as bread baking combines, agricultural chemistry entities, �KyrgyzTamak�(KyrgyzFood) and �Kyrgyzzhemish� (KyrgyzVegetable) State Joint Stock Companies on processing of agriculture products, �Kyrgyz-Danazyk� store hoses and others have been privatized. Therefore there in not unified Post-harvest chain in the Republic. Private processing enterprises are dealing with processing of the agricultural products.

Targeted and specialized markets are not organized.

Post harvest sector has many pending problems both in technological and organizational and structural matters.

Thus, cotton, the traditional crop of Uzbekistan, is one of the valuable kinds of raw materials for production of industrial goods and foodstuff. By its importance in the country�s economy it occupies a place in one line with bread and other most important kinds of raw materials. Raw cotton is a raw material for cotton-cleaning industry and cotton fiber is a half-finished product for textile, knitted goods, shoe, oil and fat and other branches of light and food industry.

Different kinds of refined oils are produced from cotton-oil for public consumption and from unprocessed oil and its wastes � glycerin and fat acids, which are used for production of soap, washing powder, linoleum, insulating tapes, oil cloth, film, waterproof cloth, artificial leather and rubber. Cellulose is obtained from cotton lint and artificial silk from it. Husk is used in hydrolysis industry for obtaining furfural � starting material for obtaining resin and plastics, synthetic fiber, medical preparations. Cotton leaves serve as a source of organic acids stems � for production of different kinds of paper.

In that as a result of development of cotton industry the range of products from cotton and sphere of its utilization in branches of industry including heavy industry (motor, aircraft, electronic and chemical) are continuously expanding.

Thus cotton production serves as a raw material base for development of many branches of industry and ultimately � economic growth of the region.

It manifests the important of this issue raised in this forum and huge sphere of action in the field of research of post harvesting technologies in the agrarian sector. Manufacture of many products listed above is not yet put on to industrial base and does not participate fully in strengthening the economy of the country. Solution of even such a problem as obtaining qualitative fodder for livestock from cotton product wastes, which seems simple by sight, requires an additional research.

The forum is being held under the motto �From Quantity to Quality�. This phrase has great sense, as we cannot produce products of inferior quality any more. It is especially important for CIS countries, which are just beginning to establish market relations. In the Former Soviet Union planning-distribution system has been existed. Raw materials used to be received according to the plan by an order of the Centre. In manufacture of products orientation was not to the market and customers, but the plan indicators dictated from upper. That is why commodity producers were interested very little in issues of the post harvest fate of their product.

Growing production is basically delivered to the table of population during their ripening according to scheme �field-consumer�. At in-seasonal time: end of autumn, winter and early spring distribution of the fresh vegetables, fruits and grapes is significant because of lack of capacities for their long storage and insufficient processing in the industrial plants. Basically in cannery industry tomatoes are processing into tomato paste, tomato-puree. In small quantity fruit and grape juices are produced. At existing capacities of fruits and vegetables processing into the cans (400 millions conditional jars) and vine industry a significant part of the grown production is spoiled and lost.

Here it is observed, fruit and vegetable production small producers number increasing in providing of population need, their trends to maintain grown crop and effective usage of land, water and material resources, and geographical location of their farms as well.

The challenges have to be solved in the rice grade manufacture system shaped in the conditions of the facilities, which growing rice are as follows:

2. to arrange financial and scientific and technical support to entities for purchase and implementation of the technology and complex of machines for rice and grain processing;

2. to find out the reasons of mass red form infection, to develop and implement measures on their elimination;

2. to develop technology and technical meanings providing the minimal rice granulation at peeling and dressing of grains of the local rice species;

2. to develop a number of local design modifications of peelers, dressing and polish machines;

2. to develop equipment for rice processing workshops (pneumatic separators, stones� selectors, groats eliminators, air purification machines, etc.);

2. to develop technology and complex of machines to manufacture of grains of different culinary characteristics: with vitamins, fast cooking etc. , and also producing of other products (starch, treacle etc.);

2. to develop technology and technical meanings to use wastes of rice processing (peels, corn-flour etc.) for manufacture of rice oil, animal forage, constructed flags etc.

The problem of post harvest treatment and processing of the sunflower is urgently important at present time in the Kazakhstan facilities. Majority of the medium and small farms set up has not any grain separation machines, drying techniques, simplest equipment of active ventilation. Oil processing lines are working according to shrunk technology. Existing drying and separating equipment has come to the end of their working resource and have to be written off. Technique does not correspond to the modern requirements of agriculture. Its manufacture restoration without radical modernisation is irrational. All these lead to lose of 30% of grown harvest, decrease the yield and quality of oil.

Technology of post-production chain of crop categories and their scales have not developed and established.

A quality management system was not set up.

Human resources have not involved into post-harvest science and technology

Physical infrastructure exists in frames of farms, cooperatives, unions and associations.

Institutional and socio-economic issues have not been developed.

Taking into consideration that the quality of products builds up, first of all, during the production processing and commodity takes on marketable form after processing, the quality should not be considered separately, only in post-harvesting period. The issue of quality should be considered in a single integrated chain: �production � processing � transportation� as transportation of the product is an important link in maintaining the quality of products, this link also should be included into the matter of consideration.

Requirements for a gustatory quality, easiness of processing, transportability, duration of product storage becomes usual. They are built up during production and should be provided for the biological potential of plants.

Concerning the cotton growing it is necessary to emphasize that the present system of purchasing and storage of raw cotton as well as initial processing (cleaning seeds from fiber) also require perfection. It cannot be said that these processes ensure maintenance or improvement of product quality.

Processing industry also requires an improvement as many kinds of products loose their original quality after processing.

Thus, considering the matter �from quality to quantity� it is necessary to orient the efforts of researchers toward all three links, through which product reaches a consumer.

Long since Uzbekistan is famous for its fruits and grapes. Early and late ripening varieties of fruits and grapes are growing. The research has demonstrated that costs in growing and harvesting the grown yield are great. Thus, the total loss of vegetable and fruit yield reaches 4.0-4.5 tons. More than a half of it happens in post harvesting period. It is due to imperfection of harvesting technologies and transportation, processing and storage of products.

That is why post-harvesting technology in fruit, vegetable and potato growing fields is an important help in raising the efficiency of the branch.

Another factor of the same importance: as it is known the period of ripening and harvesting of fruits, grapes and vegetables are very short. Hence the period of their consumption fresh depends on storage technology. It is also requires intensification of research in this direction.

Long since Uzbekistan is famous also for its melons and watermelons. In particular years the production reached up to 2 million tons. But the loss of commodity market after disintegration of the Soviet Union and limited transportation potential caused the fall of production volume.

The development of this branch also requires consideration and solution of the problem of post-harvesting technologies.

In Tajikistan processing of fruits and vegetables in large volumes takes place in Sugd (50-55%), Central Tajikistan (25-30) and Hatlon (15-20%) regions.

The main products manufactured by enterprises of the processing industry are tomato products, fruit and vegetable juices and cans and vines products also. Cannery plants and combines process the main part of production. In the last time there is tendency in construction of small plants and lines in the places of growing plants. Significant part of lines and large enterprises have out of date technology, therefore quality of part of production is not high, new packing materials are not available enough. The net of advertising establishments is weakly developed. Participation in exhibitions-demonstrations of yearly products in the Interstate and International auctions is fairly small.

Weak ties limit access and accessibility to the new technologies with other partners.

The level of fruit and vegetable production and products of their processing now is fairly behind of scientific and technical progress in branch, in advanced technology of developed countries. At growing and crop harvesting the main in the process is manual labour. In state scale processing of production is going in a very narrow assortment. Population dealing with growing, fruits and grape especially, in the season of ripeness peak and harvest can allow themselves to dry that by old primitive methods. That is why one farmer or group of farmers need completed cycle �production - processing (including drying) - realization�. Realization of the fresh fruit and vegetable production is the mostly profitable business for manufacturer. But it is impossible to purchase all grown production to realize in fresh form. Significant part of the harvest should be processed, some part to put for a long storage. Constructed before large and very large enterprises of the processing industry (plants, combines), located in separate zones of industrial fruits and vegetables production do not allow to process vegetables and fruits and grape grown in the other regions of the republic. Here it is a need small plant, workshops and lines on production processing. Combination of farms and private peasant entities with small capacity plant will allow with small production costs to decrease losses of grown harvest of fruits and vegetables or minimize them.

The urgent challenges in the field of storage and processing of the agricultural foodstuff are developments of wasteless and ecologically pure technologies of the deep processing of plants� growing products to get new foodstuffs including children and medical and preventive ones.

In the implementation of the progamme on scientific provision of these issues the specialized institutes (Kazakh Research Institute of Grain and Its Processing Products, Astana city and its branch in Almaty, Kazakh Research Institute of Food Industry, Almaty city and a number of laboratories and divisions of the research institutions of the NACAR and technological universities of the country) are participated.

Research is supporting by Government and funding mainly from state budget. Private sector finances insufficient number of research proposals.

The mostly important research results, technical and technological developments are presented in the communications of the workshop participants.

The research organizations of the Agrarian Academy and enterprises of the Kyrgyz Ministry of agriculture, water economy and processing industry play the special role in this chain.

Research development and other technical support services accessible by the post-harvest sector have not conducted because of lack of funds and specialists.

There are not specialised post-harvest units and centres in the Republic.

Research work is carried out in insufficient volumes in the labs of some enterprises, in the Central Lab of the corporation �Hurokvory� and in the Research and Industrial Association �Bogparvar� of the Tajik Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Staff education and training are carried out in the number of the higher education institutions of the Republic of Tajikistan (chairs, faculties, divisions).

Due to poor material basis and relations scientific research in the field of fruits and vegetable production is limited by fragmentary, uncoordinated efforts, which feedback is not enough. Conducted research is applied mainly.

Level of education of the service personnel, mainly, in small enterprises, mini-plants and some other large enterprises needs improvement, special courses, training are required. There is need to set up Centres on re-training more umber of specialists inside the republic itself.

Research should be conducted on the basis existing research institutions involving leading specialists and scientists. Short implementation of the research results into industry should be reached.

The special attention should be paid to advance methods of post-harvest processing of products at staff training via universities and training courses on qualification improvement.

Survey of the sub-regional documents represented to the workshop allows identifying the post harvest sector development possibilities in Central Asian countries as follows:

- land resources sufficient for agricultural industry development and favourable natural conditions (abundance of sun light and warmth);

- manpower resources overage;

- existence of the original industrial basis for storage and processing of the agricultural foodstuff crop;

- high level of education of the rural population; qualified staff availability;

- presence of the transport communications to develop interstate trade of agricultural foodstuff both in fresh and processed forms;

- traditional population�s attainments on prime processing of fruits and vegetable;

- having formed private facilities sector interested in development of effective agrarian business;

- existence of the scientific and educational institutions to conduct research and staff training.

Post Harvest Sector development is constrained by:

- water resources� deficiency to get good yield of crop (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan);

- low purchasing power of population in the internal market;

- oudated processing technologies, prepackaging, packing of the foodstuff, - - technical equipment of the processed enterprises and workshops;

- deficiency of the investment sources for technical equipment of enterprises of foodstuff and processing industry; banks are reluctantly crediting both farmers and post harvest sector;

- insufficient access to the scientific development due to lack of service on implementation into industry of the research achievements (extension service);

- lack of management system on each target market corresponded to modern requirements;

- usage of the out of date standards on agricultural raw and foodstuff, which do not conforms with the requirements over the world;

- broken system of re-training of the all levels� specialists for processing enterprises;

- insufficiency of the special transportation, broken roads, bad and expensive communications. Only large firms have Internet access.

Three states Republic of Azerbajan, Republic of Armenia and Georgia are located on the territory of Trans-Caucasus.

Azerbaijan is located in the eastern part of Trans-Caucasus covering 86,6 thousand sq. kilometres. Soils are principally grey, in mountains they are brown and mountain-forests� and mountain-pastures� earth; on Lenkoran valley � yellow earth. Flora of dry steps, near deserts, mountain meadows are prevailed, mountains� biases are covered by deciduous forests. Agriculture is one of the leading branches of the national economy of Azerbaijan. The rate of agriculture in the structure of Gross Domestic Product exceeds 18%.

Republic of Armenia is situated in the central part of the south of South Caucasus. The territory of the republic of nearly 30.0 thousand sq. km totally is typically mountain. The territory of the republic is distinguished by clearly defined zonality - from near desert to sub-alpine zone. Land and water resources of Armenia are rather limited. 10 regions are formed in the republic with peculiar complex of conditions for agriculture development in each.

The specialisation of agriculture in the republic is diversified though each zone has its own specific specialisation. Still the following vegetable cultures are of great trade significance: tomato, pepper and eggplant, viticulture - forming unique raw materials for production of mark cognac, strong wine and sherry; early potato, valuable sorts of apricots and peaches, mountain cattle breeding giving milk for highly quality Swiss cheese production.

Georgia occupies 69,7 thousand square kilometers, lowland part is just 13% of the whole area, foothills � 33,4%, mountains � 53,6%. For the agriculture its used just 44% (3 million hectares)/ From agricultural lands 24,1 % falls at plough lands, perennial plantation � 10%, pasture � 65,5%.

Georgia is typical country of mountain agriculture.

In XX century Georgia became and agrarian-industrial country with the developed agriculture and food industry.

Thus despite of insufficiency of arable lands in all republics agriculture is multi branch. It should be noted that in 90^th the structural, economic and social changes in agriculture have happened because of transition into the new market relations. E.g. in Georgia in 1995 the total value of the agricultural products reduced for 75% in comparison with 1986-1990. Catastrophically fell down the food industry: wine production for 4 times, vegetables and fruits � 27 times, meat and meat foods � 45 times, milk and diary � 29 times. In Armenia the total sowing area reduced; the sowing of food and technical cultures and fruit plantings greatly reduced although the sowing of cereals, potato and some kinds of vegetables increased. At present, a modern food situation in Azerbaijan is complicated by crisis situations: population payable demand for food decrease, of husbandry�s origin especially, disparity of prices between industrial means of production and agricultural products, significant shrink of budget support of rural manufactures, considerable weakening of the industrial potential of AIC (Agrarian Industrial Complex) and break of the social spheres of countryside.

• according to the contribution into promotion of rural inhabitants employment - vegetable cultures, then fruit;
• according to the creation of Internal gross output - priority also belongs to vegetable. The product cost here makes more than 37% of the total input from plant growing. For potato this index makes 23-24%, for fruit - 15% and for cereal - 14%;
• according to the nourishment improvement and growth of food safety the most share belongs to cereal and potato. As for the importance of nourishment ration value - all the mentioned product groups are almost equal.

In Georgia especially high indicatives are in cereal production. In 1995-1997 annually there were produced 700 thousand tons of cereals or 19,6 centner per hectare.

In the number of perspective groups of foodstuffs in the country the most importance has maize because it takes one of the leading places in the population meal. The mostly important crops are grape, tea, ether and oil containing plants, which basically might be used for manufacture of competitive production for export.

Along with perspective plants a significant input into the employment, meal improvement and food safety increase potato and sugar sorghum might be played.

In the Republic of Azerbaijan the main attention pays to technologies of agricultural crops� cultivation and issues of import of foodstuffs and food raw materials. In the republic the State Programme on providing of the food safety of the country is developed. . Year by year productivity of the agricultural cultures and live stock efficiency are increased. Manufacture of plant and cattle breeding products are raised. Thus, in comparison with 1999 in 2000 cereals production was increased on 40,2%, potato � 19,0%, vegetables � 16,4, fruits and berries � 8,8%, food melons � 26,4%, meet � 3,9%, diary � 3,9, eggs �3,1%.

If the cost of branch GDP in 1998 in comparison with preliminary year was increased on 3,8%, the size of this indicator in 1999-2000 was 6,9% and 12,1% accordingly.

In the Republic of Armenia soil and climate conditions of the Republic of Armenia are favourable for growing such valuable agricultural cultures as grape, stone and seed fruit, vegetable, tobacco, geranium, potato and etc., which are located in different natural and economical zones of the country.

The main groups of agricultural crops grown in the republic are as follows:

• Cereal. Annual cereal production is nearly 300 375 tons (215 000 tons form food cereal) that makes 28-30% of total cereal needs and 47-50% of all existing wheat resources.

• Milling industry is well developed in the republic. There exist 39 milling enterprises. Productive capacity of four of them exceeds 500 tons/day (Erevan - 850, Sevan - 500, Bagramyan - 500 tons of wheat a day).

• Productive capacity of the rest enterprises makes in average 20 tons of wheat a day; the share of forage cereal makes nearly 60% of all cereal resources. Dozens of small mills work in rural regions. More than 1700 bake-houses work here. Productive capacity of bread-baking plants are used only for 10-13% (4-6 tons of bread a day, more small - 0.2-1 ton). According to non-official data the daily production of bread is nearly 500 tons. Mixed food industry is also available in the republic.

• Productive capacity (designed) of the existing five mixed food plants makes 897 thousand mixed food a year. Three of them have average-year capacity of nearly 200.0 thousand tons each. Daily capacity of Erevan mixed food plant is 650 tons. Last years-daily railway supply from other republics made 30 wagons of wheat.

• Potato. It is considered to be the "second bread" in the country according to its significance. It is mainly grown on the farms of Ararat plain (early potato) and mountain regions (middle-ripped and late sorts) on the area of 30-33 thousand he. Its amount is nearly 415 thousand tons. Only inconsiderable part is processed. Nearly 35-40% of the crops is realised after a long storage. Potato is kept in the small storehouses of the peasant farms and in large refrigerating storehouses productive capacity of which greatly exceeds the quantity of storage crops of potato, fruit, grape and vegetables.

• Fruit and vegetable. Nearly 85-90 thousand tons of fruit and 450 thousand tons of vegetable were produced yearly during the recent period. In average nearly 57.5-60 million conventional fruit and vegetable jars are processed and produced yearly. But, the existing productive capacity exceeds the needs. These plants have the designed capacity of 475.1 mln conventional jars a year. The share of Airum, Echmiadzin and Armavir tinned food factory capacity is nearly 52% of all fruit and vegetable tinned food factories of the republic. At present almost 4 thousand tons of peaches and 1.0-1,5 thousand tons of apricots are processed a year in average, while only the Airum plant not long ago processed 20-22 thousand tons of fruit. The greatest share among canned vegetable belongs to canned tomato. Eggplants, cucumbers are also often canned. The rest part of fruit and vegetable are used fresh; a part of them (40-42%) - after a long storage is realised at a high price.

• Tobacco - the main culture in the republic. It was grown on the area of 7.0 thousand he and nearly 10-17.8 thousand tons of tobacco was produced. It is of high quality. At present the production volume fell 4-5 times. The necessary productive capacities are available both for tobacco raw materials fermentation (3 fermentation plants) and for production of highly qualified cigarettes. Small peasant farms grow tobacco on contractual base and dry it. Then tobacco is fermented at fermentation plants and sent to the tobacco plant for cigarette production. During the period of 1998-1999 the cigarettes production in the republic increased 1,5 times. This tendency of grow is observed at present.

• Grape - is one of the profile crops in the republic. Nearly 80% form technical sorts. 200-220 thousand tons of grapes were produced yearly, at present - 100-120 thousand tons. Some 15-17 thousand tons of grapes is used fresh and 5 thousand tons are used for juice production. The rest part of grape (technical sorts) is used for processing - wine and cognac production.

• There are 35 wine plants and 4 plants for wine bottling in the republic. Most of them entered the "Ararat� enterprise (17 wine plants, 3 cognac plants, 1 - champagne plant, and the enterprises in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Saratov).

• The level of wine and cognac enterprises capacity use varies from 20 to 25%, some plants having even more variety.

• 432.0 thousand of grape wine bottles and 938,4 thousand of champagne bottles were produced in the republic in 1999.

• Sugar beet - one of the main technical cultures cultivated in the republic up to 90-years (nearly 4-4,4 thousand he).

• Nowadays this culture is not cultivated. But due to the tendency of its cultivation renew sugar plants are being built in Gyumri and Spitak. Their productive capacity will allow to process the total raw materials, derives both by peasant farms and other subjects dealing with sugar beet growing. The volume of raw materials production grown on 3,5-4,0 thousand he due to our calculations could be raised up to 125-150 thousand tons and sugar - to 28-30 thousand tons.

Level of Organisation in Post Harvest Sector

It may be surely stated that there are no other large co-operatives but �Aicoop� both in Post Harvest Sector and agriculture in whole. That�s why the program development on �Aicoop� activity activation and creation of new co-operatives for Post Harvest Sector of republic agriculture service is of great significance.

Two large farming associations were created in the republic. They also deal with the Post Harvest Sector problems. But their activity is not active and doesn�t influence much for the improvement of Post Harvest Sector organisation work. New programs should be developed here and implemented for improving the post-harvest works.

The following interested for us food markets have been formed in the republic by present: grain market, markets of fruit and grape, vegetables, potato, sugar. Each of them has their own infrastructure and specificity:

*Market of grain presented mainly by wheat and barley is functioning only 30% from its local production. But it is differ anyway from the imported production neither by the channel of realisation nor by the level of initial neither secondary industrial processing. Rice, being exclusively imported, and grain-pulses occupies the great place in the grain market. The levels of initial and secondary processing are rather simple. In a whole, the location of the whole grain market is seemed to be rather rational. It functions as rural, national and international.

• Markets of fruit, grape and vegetable function mainly due to local production used both fresh and processed. The main specificity of these markets is the fact that fresh production being perishable and low transportable requires rapid turnover temps. Only after conservation, or dry or other types of processing they can wait for a consumer for a long time. The second specificity of these markets is the presence of a good potential for the development of competitive markets with a definite purpose: tomato, dry fruit, wine, cognac, juices, beer and bottled vegetable production. Here we meet a problem of market infrastructure creation oriented towards export.

Despite on variety of the cultivated crops in the Republic of Georgia at present there is no scale production of any culture. There are rare cases of the agrarian manufacture and contracts. After the extremely unsuccessful privatization the large enterprises on grape, tea and other agricultural crops� provision were destroyed. The lands were given to private farmers, who have not neither financial means nor machines to cultivate them. As a result the producers of the agricultural crops are just small and medium farmers. This situation makes difficult the use of the modern methods of raw materials production, storage and processing. The result is a great loss of yield.

Last years there were determined that the main products exported from Georgia are spices and ethereal oils, demand on which was increased in Ukraine, Russia and other neighbor countries. By virtue of this the issue of the post harvest processing of the ethereal oils� plants will be discussed further.

Demand for natural spice and ethereal oils, as noticed, exists on the huge markets of Ukraine and Russia. Only Ukraine demands to supply products to the sum of 300 million USD. One of the main problems of ethereal oils plants processing is that their contents are not higher than 10 parts of the percent, therefore manufacture of ethereal oils requires huge energy costs. For example, to get 1 kg of geranium ethereal oil, 1 ton of raw materials have to be treated by steam.

In the republic a new method in the technology of natural ethereal oil production has been developed, which allows intensifying significantly post harvest processing of the starting materials. Prior distillation the raw material is squashed to get the cellular sap, which is used as a final product. The ethereal oils are isolated from residue.

Realisation of agricultural production in agrarian food system of the Armenian republic is carried out in two directions: dry and as raw materials for processing industry. Both possibilities of realisation have their specific and distinguished features.

The purpose of agricultural products realisation from the field to the counter is distinguished by various factors objectively and subjectively determining the efficiency of the realisation process in agri-business system of Armenian Republic. These factors are:

• absence of external market of agricultural production fresh realisation (except some possibility of realisation in Georgia),
• limit of transport means choice (sea transport is absolutely absent, railway transport is very destroyed);
• absence of places for temporary storage of agricultural production in peasant farms ( except peasant farms in Ararat valley where there are not only special places for products store, but sometimes they are well equipped by refrigerate facilities);
• high prices for power sources sometimes exceeding even international standards;
• poor state of acting subjects, especially non-payable peasant farms;
• bad roads state , rural, in particular, and inter-field as well;
• variety and great quantity of second-hand dealers and non-regulation of their actions;
• absence of corresponding loan, high percent rate, rate granting only from commercial banks;
• taxation of servicing structures for VAT;
• different refer of transport means ( state, joint stock, cooperative, small and medium enterprises, private sector and etc.). According to the date of 01.01.94. 34% of transport means, 42,4% of tractors, 56% of wheel tractors were privatised and sold to economy subjects. Such situation creates competition, on one hand, and lead to self-will. The following factors promote such situation to a great extent:

• absence of taxation;
• absence of special sub-divisions responsible for transport service.

Chains "field-processing industry" are characterised by all the above mentioned peculiarities. More over, there are also peculiarities, typical only for this chain, and they are:

• insolvency of the divisions receiving the raw materials for processing. As a result, the peasant farms don't get the due money according the agreement;
• lack of tare and processing possibilities and as a result the peasant farms loose the harvest grown with great difficulties if not completely, then its weight and taste qualities;
• necessity of modernisation of processing divisions' technical equipment;
• non-use of technological cooperation possibilities (cooperation and etc.) by producers and processing enterprises.

In the Republic of Georgia early new technology of the post harvest processing of the ethereal oils� plants allows to increase in 300-500 times coefficient of raw materials use; in 1,5-2 times equipment�s� productivity is increasing, the loss of raw materials in post harvest period of its storage is minimising.

Realisation of agricultural production in agri-food system of the Armenian republic is carried out in two directions: dry and as raw materials for processing industry. Both possibilities of realisation have their specific and distinguished features.

The purpose of agricultural product realisation from the field to the counter is distinguished by various factors objectively and subjectively determining the efficiency of the realisation process in agri-industrial system of Armenian Republic. These factors are:

• absence of external market of agricultural production fresh realisation (except some possibility of realisation in Georgia),
• limit of transport means choice (sea transport is absolutely absent, railway transport is very destroyed);
• absence of places for temporary storage of agricultural production in peasant farms ( except peasant farms in Ararat valley where there are not only special places for products store, but sometimes they are well equipped by refrigerate facilities);
• high prices for power sources sometimes exceeding even international standards;
• poor state of acting subjects, especially non-payable peasant farms;
• bad roads state , rural, in particular, and inter-field as well;
• variety and great quantity of second-hand dealers and non-regulation of their actions;
• absence of corresponding loan, high percent rate, rate granting only from commercial banks;
• taxation of servicing structures for VAT;

• different refer of transport means ( state, joint stock, cooperative, small and medium enterprises, private sector and etc.). According to the date of 01.01.94. 34% of transport means, 42,4% of tractors, 56% of wheel tractors were privatised and sold to economy subjects. Such situation creates competition, on one hand, and lead to self-will. The following factors promote such situation to a great extent:

• absence of taxation;
• lack of special sub-divisions responsible for transport service.

Chains "field - processing industry" are characterized by all the above mentioned peculiarities. More over, there are also peculiarities, typical only for this chain, and they are:

• insolvency of the divisions receiving the raw materials for processing. As a result, the peasant farms don't get the due money according the agreement;
• lack of tare and processing possibilities and as a result the peasant farms loose the harvest grown with great difficulties if not completely, then its weight and taste qualities;
• necessity of modernization of processing divisions' technical equipment;
• non-use of technological cooperation possibilities (cooperation and etc.) by producers and processing enterprises.

In the system of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences fundamental and applied research are carries on.

Government mainly supports research.

Specialised Post Harvest unions and centres are existing in the basic branches of the food industry.

Information on research in the field of the post harvest technologies was not presented. It was noted that in the Republic no any research in improvement of food safety in the post harvest sector has been conducted under support of World Bank, IMF, TASIS and other organisations.

At present in the republic the standard accepted at soviet times no one is used. Justification for such situation is fact that they are completely different than international ones. State bodies of the republic realise organisational and financing activities on development and adoption of international standards in the field of food products and agricultural raw materials very slowly.

Functions of state control on food quality and safety during their manufacture, sale, purchase, storage import, export and transportation are realised in the limits of their authorities by appropriate bodies of the executive authorities of the country.

The Law of the Azerbaijan Republic �About Sanitary and Epidemiological Well-being� has been adopted in the republic. In accordance with this one state bodies, public unions, enterprises, establishments and citizens are obliged to follow sanitary norms and regulations, hygienic normative, acting on the territory of Azerbaijan during delivery, storage, realisation, use of raw material, substances, goods and other production, their manufacture technologies purchased abroad.

At present the hygienic and epidemiological centre under Ministry of Health Protection of the Republic is carried out a control on sanitary hygienic state in trade because the informational consultative centre in the country is lacking.

At present certification by safety indicators of the imported food takes place upon requirement of the Chief State sanitary physician in the appropriate credited labs.

Although Azerbaijan is a member of the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO), but up to now there are not own standards on agricultural products.

State standards on agricultural production are available excluding the standard on producing wheat. It became old and was not renewed, as the product is not exported.

All the production of local food industry is subjected to license.

State authorities regulate the quality of agricultural production. The list of goods subjected to obligatory certification includes all the goods of the trade channels (Regulation of the Government of the Republic of Armenia from 19/01/98/ PA NISom and the Law "On the safety of food products").

To ensure health, safety and protection of customer�s interests the products certification is realised. It is provided by "Gosstandart" system by means of its authorised institutions: Ministry of agriculture (veterinary service, seed and quarantine inspection) and Ministry of health (sanitary and epidemiological service). Their relevant branch laboratories realise the control procedure for quality of the production.

But the level of reliability of the above mentioned services is not very high. The customer is not guaranteed for the complete safety of the products. On one hand it is the result of non-complex and unsystematic interaction of the controlling groups. On the other hand there is poor supply of branch laboratories with modern facilities and equipment. As a result, for example, products with high content of chemical fertilisers or means of plant protection are almost not found.

Under condition of growing demand for ecologically clean food products, later necessity of widening the state function on agriculture products certification, defining the production as the result of special terms of production, storage and processing, set up a new type of quality certification in practice - "Ecologically clean production".

In the Republic of Armenia 40% of total employment belong to agricultural farms and the share of rural population forms approximately 30-32%. 35-40% of working time is spent for harvest growing and 25-28% - for the rest kind of jobs.

The level of labour resources education the Republic of Armenia is rather high. A personnel for agriculture is trained at Armenian agriculture academy and 11 secondary special institutions both on day and correspondence courses. But the problem of their employment after getting the necessary education is indefinite due to low production level in agriculture and processing industry. That's why the problem of employment of specialists with secondary special and high education is one of the important and vital problems for the republic. Extension service nowadays forms a part of agricultural academy of the Republic of Armenia and its leader - director of this academy - realise the farmers training by the personnel of the academy and scientific centres of the Ministry of agriculture.

The main problems in education and necessity of education are:

• absence of the corresponding base for skills acquiring and practical experience during processing practice according the chain "harvesting-realisation";
• necessity of deepening theoretical knowledge in native scientific and research institutions and abroad, corresponding agricultural farms and research centres. In this respect, the deep and profound study of foreign languages, especially Russian, English, German, French and Spanish is necessary. Teachers and students training abroad;
• experience exchange on storage, processing and realisation of agricultural products and on marketing of agricultural production.

The county disposes a well-developed network of railway and motor way roads and the railway road of general use is the most developed not only in Trans-Caucasus, but also among other NIS countries.

Still, the blockade of the main railway and motor way roads via Azerbaijan makes difficult the transportation of any goods especially perishable ones. There are only two corridors via neighbouring Georgia. Goods transit to port terminal is rather complicated due to numerous barriers and necessity of special accompanies. Rather favourable conditions for goods transfer remain the direction towards Iran. Possibilities and avia-transport access are rather limited.

The today level of local production of imported food is well enough. Tare production (boxes, sacks, glass tare, plastic tare, packets for various package) during the last three years meet the necessary requirements in quality respect. But there are a lot of problems in qualitative respect to be solved.

A great share of perishable products such as fruit, grape and tomato besides fresh use and industrial processing are put for a long storage in refrigerators to soften the peak of use. Only for service Erevan population the existing cooling capacities exceed 60 thousand tons and 45 refrigerators more of 250-500 tons are available in other regions. More over there appeared the tendency of increasing the refrigerators quantity foe small-scale production directly in the farms of producers.

The capacity of all kinds of winter storage households in the republic makes 178 thousand tons of only once capacity of storage, 75.8 - for potato, 43.3 -for vegetable, 28.2 thousand tons - for fruit. The research shows that the major part of them doesn't correspond to technical norms of food storage and very often the losses make 35-40%.

In future for agricultural products storage it would be necessary to have 433 thousand tons of only once capacity of storage, 46% - for potato and 54% - for vegetable and fruit.

It is necessary to fasten the temps of household building privatisation, creation of joint stock companies, cooperatives and private sector. Foreign capital should be widely used especially for re-equipment of these objects.

Favourable loans and various material and technical values should be presented to peasant farms in places for organisation of agriculture products storage.

The agricultural product transfer should be done in boxes which 2-3 times reduce the works on products load and 20% raise the efficiency of storage household exploitation.

The successful solution of all these problems is only possible with the comprehensive help of state structures. Winter storage of agricultural products is very important as their price more than 2 times higher in winter than at the period of gathering. According to our calculation investment could be compensated not earlier than in 2-3 years.

Research in the sphere of state policy of Post Harvest Sector support, loan possibilities, price control, measures for extension service promotion and training should include:

• possibilities of investment involvement and low percentage long-term loans for creation of a stable Post Harvest Sector base and organisation of its work;
• personnel training for work in the chain "Harvest-realisation" and especially specialists in marketing and management in this area;
• basis for Post Harvest Sector business-programs preparation and insurance of favourable terms of their realisation during several first (3-5) years of its development;
• development of ways and means of material and technical supply stimulation, creation and non-stop work of the chain "harvest-processing-realisation of agriculture production".

The following levels of organisation in Post Harvest Sector will be studied:

Official organisations on agricultural products realisation are not registered. The peasant farmers realise their products themselves, mainly different middlemen.

Gender and Equity. The sex equity as a problem doesn't exist in Armenia. Still it should be noted that women play the major role in Post Harvest Sector both in hand harvesting and processing and realisation of agriculture production. But a number of facts influence poor on equal women participation in decision adoption in Post Harvest Sector.

High migration level, especially men leave, catastrophic reduction of living conditions of the major part of rural population and raise of social tension has become the reason for women social passivity who along with their home work have to do the main heavy work on field and post-harvest work.

For these reasons it is difficult for women to improve their qualification and educational level, to participate in management works. Often they work in Post Harvest Sector under unfavourable conditions. They are mainly occupied in middle and low groups of Post Harvest Sector.

In reality due to women absence in managing structures it is difficult for them to get investments; loans participate in Post Harvest Sector programs. It is not accident; almost 68-70% of unemployment is women.

But educational and research institutions are accessible for them. They actively participate in women organisations on agricultural production, Post Harvest Sector in particular and village problems. The main problem here is still the creation of terms for women equal participation in managing structures and mastering of their qualification and educational level.

Such institutions in the republic exist in the form of higher (Armenian Academy of Agriculture), secondary-special (food and other technical secondary schools) educational institutions and research centres for personnel qualification improvement and training at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia; and the system of farmers training via the "Agrogitaspjur" system making at present a part of the Agricultural Academy. The provided service are both payable (nearly 70% of studied) and free of charge (nearly 30%). Training by "Agrogitaspjur" is realised at places with involvement of best scientists and teaches of the republic (Ministry of agriculture, research centres, scientific and research institute of economy Ministry of agriculture and Academy of agriculture, Academy of agriculture and etc.).

Till the year 2000, only in the Academy of agriculture there were day (payable and free) and extra-mural (only payable) forms of education. But payable education is not accessible for the major part of rural population.

In Post Harvest Sector education is served only in general context except the cases the students continue their education abroad (mainly in the USA).

Agricultural technical secondary schools are mainly located in regional centres and former district centres. As far as "Agrogitaspjur" arranged training on Post Harvest Sector even in rural schools is concerned at present its possibilities are greatly limited as recently its personnel accounted 350-400 scientists, specialists and workers. As a result there appeared great problems (especially financial) in the organisation of its activity and as a result there are only 50-60 specialists at present. It is necessary to regulate (make and confirm the program) the activity of this organisation made much for the education of peasant farmers workers in hard time of the transition period.

The great problem in education is employment of specialist with high and special education just finished the study because for the hundred thousand (nearly 335 thousand) small acting peasant farms it is not necessary and economically not good to have specialists for each farm separately. The problem of employment should have rapid and grounded solution.

16-20% out of the provided by bank system credits for the republic economy refer to agriculture, enterprises serving agriculture and processing agriculture raw materials. A great credit deal was provided to processing enterprises for getting the raw materials according distribution of the Ministry of agriculture.

Armenian bank system includes the Central Bank and 31 trade banks whose active makes 100 milliard dram. In the republic both banks (for example Armenian state trade joint-stock Armgosbank), programs (for example the Program of the development of Armenia North-West regions) and other credits serve as credit organisations for Post Harvest Sector.

Out of 15 large credits 7 were provided for agriculture and 3 directly for Post Harvest Sector. But not all of the credits were efficiently used. According to evaluation of independent experts on 14 credits the state got damage of 47,3% of all these credits (the sum of 152.51 million USD), and for the agricultural credits - 23 million USD.

The main problems for providing credit service for Post Harvest Sector are as follows:

1. the peasant has no possibility to give a redeem to a creditor;
2. long-term, low percentage credits are more reasonable in Post Harvest Sector while in practice we meet the reverse process;
3. to return the debts and credit percentage a peasant should provide trade production competitive at market. But because of the small size of peasant farms and small credits, the peasant could not enlarge on one hand the production, implement highly productive technique and technology and make production cheaper than others. On the other hand, even producing goods of high quality, it would be difficult to realise it on internal market and pay off the debts due to low purchasing demand. Goods realisation on external market even of good quality is connected with great problems (financial, interstate, transport and etc.). Unfortunately, in major cases credits are not given for industrial purposes, but for extension service training, experience exchange and non-industrial aims. Small farmers are also given other service on Post Harvest Sector, but they are of accident, non-regulated character and the result of this service is very modest;

Intellectual possibilities for marketing activity are available sufficiently for each separate production group. On one hand they are graduates of agriculture academy where marketing course is taught at all faculties for many years. On the other hand we have the personnel potential of realisation departments left at large enterprises of food industry though many of them have no turnover capital for marketing service organisation.

Only brewing enterprise "Kotaik" dispose a full value marketing service. The other plants and factories processing the raw materials fulfil rather limited quantity of functions. "Agromarkewting" enterprise is responsible for market external design, two other organisations realise TACIS programs.

Trade regime in the republic may be considered as liberal. The state masters its trade legislation maximally makes it closer to the demands of World Trade Organisation.

Trade is realised by different non-governmental structures, commercial structures, intermediate and separate firms.

Customs rates for grain export and import are zero, on export of other kinds of agriculture production are also zero, and for import are only 10%. These rate act only for products of agriculture raw materials processing.

The following should be marked in internal and external trade non-rate limits:

The information technology uses radio, telephone communication, TV. Advertising makes its first steps, INTERNET is practically absent, and library foundation became old and doesn't suit as information source.

Agri-business organisations. In the sphere of agri-business in the republic the following organisations could be considered the main ones: state enterprise "Agrimarketing", Centre of agri-business and applied research created by the support of the marketing promotion program of the USA Department of Agriculture, which has its own regional departments. These organisations to a certain extent collaborate with peasant farms in Post Harvest Sector organisation, but they need improvement and state special support, qualified specialists and financial support.

In Georgia government tries to support small and medium business by crediting.

Setting up of cooperatives and rural associations is only on the beginning stage. The same situation is in farmers� organisations and agribusiness organisations.

Government guarantees the equal rights to participate in the Post Harvest Sector, educational and research institutions despite gender.

Specialised research and educational organisations provide service to Post Harvest Sector in the Republic. There are no other services involved into the PHS.

Credit issues in Post Harvest Sector are fairly bad. Credit rates (20-25% per year) make unreal their use in this sphere. In the last years credit unions were arranged to subsidise farmers in rural regions.

Raw materials arrive to the processing enterprises in fresh form generally.

Practically, marketing organisations at present are absent.

Market state regulation is lacking, therefore market is filled with smuggling that constraint development of the local industry. Canneries, vine factories and other enterprises do not function, practically.

There are Internet connections and wide spectrum of the scientific magazines and directories in the different research institutions.

Constraints that Post Harvest Sector face on the way of its development may be grouped as follows:

• Disconnection, small size and absence of special goods production in agriculture;
• Non-protection and uncontrolled of internal agrarian market;
• Low level of marketing service, absence of stable external markets;
• Physical and moral depreciation of equipment at enterprises of processing industry and absence of facilities for its liquidation;
• Absence of modern special transport, tare and package base;
• Lack or absence of small shops and facilities for initial or complete products processing directly at peasant farms;
• Continued blockade of external communications.
• Limited possibilities of external commodity turnover

Agribusiness possibilities and perspectives in the Post Harvest Sector are wide and various. They are as follows:

• Organisation and management of large special agriculture enterprises with the use of modern system of production;
• Production of facilities of low and small-size techniques;
• Peasant utensils and farriery goods production for personal plots and house-keeping ;
• Management of national traditional trade and handicraft economy on the basis of small and medium enterprises;
• Initial processing and realisation of products of peasant farms. Production of national sweets and other kinds of products;
• Production of loading and unloading technique and other facilities;
• Restoration at old enterprises achieved earlier volumes of agriculture production processing and its further development paying special attention to process of grape, apricot, peach, tomato and other kinds of south vegetables, milk for Swiss cheese production;
• Production of tare and package material and technique;
• Marketing and information organisation;
• Reconstruction and technical re-equipment of processing industry enterprises;
• Import of corresponding special transport means;
• Restoration and creation of the new cooling capacities and equipment and other objects for food storage.

Scientific and research works on different problems of the Post Harvest Sector in Armenia are carried out in joint-stock "Prodovolstviye", scientific centres of viticulture, wine-growing and fruit growing, vegetable and technical cultures of Armenian academy of agriculture. Designing organisations available in the republic are capable to work out any projects on POST HARVEST SECTOR. Academy of agriculture trains engineers for mechanisation and technology of agriculture products processing. Joint-stock "Gitaspjur" acting on the example of "extension service" ensure the propaganda of science achievements.

At present the main priorities for POST HARVEST SECTOR are as follows:

• Development of the complex technology of ethereal oil plants processing with additional product as their cellular sap.
• Research of the fermentation processes of aromatic plants in post harvest period in order to increase the content of ethereal oil.