Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Aug.8 / Trend, H. Hasanov /
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov approved Aug. 10 as the sowing starting date in the Dashoguz region and Aug. 17in the Akhal, Balkan, Lebap and Mary regions.
Despite the arid weather conditions, Turkmenistan harvested 1.3 million tons of wheat in 2011. This is enough to cover domestic demand and to seed next year's crop.
In 2010 farmers harvested 1.5 million tons of wheat. The sowing area for grain was 860,000 hectares.
In previous years, Turkmenistan had to import almost all food grains. Turkmenistan launched the sales of wheat and flour on the foreign markets through the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange in 2011. The Turkmengallaonumleri Bread Products Association was tasked to organize the sales.
The country put 150,000 tons of wheat into stock trades, including 50,000 tons of flour in 2010.