Ashgabat, June 21, 2019 – On June 20 and 21, the European Union funded project “Support to Further Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Turkmenistan (SARD III)” conducted a two-day workshop on key factors influencing the success of potential exports of home décor and home textile products to Europe. Mr. Cornelis Bronk, the SARD III Project short-term international expert on the EU market for home decoration and home textiles, presented best marketing strategies, current trends, consumer preferences, and logistics cost and price parameters of importing home décor and textile products in the EU.
The target group of the seminar consisted of entrepreneurs – members of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, specialists from the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, and consultants who specialize in promoting Turkmen products abroad. All of the participants received handout materials covering market trends in the EU market for home decoration and home textiles, prepared by the international expert, at the end of the seminar.
During his visit to Turkmenistan, Mr. Bronk together with the SARD III Project’s Team Leader, Arthur Russell, and Project’s specialists, Vepa Myalikgulyyev and Viktoriya Frolova, worked with the entrepreneurs who specialize on production of traditional and modern Turkmen handicraft made of camel wool, silk, textiles, wood and other materials in order to assess the prospects of potential exports to the European market. During his meetings with manufacturers and potential exporters in Mary and Ahal velayats, the expert made recommendations on further development of design, branding, marketing and pricing of Turkmen products.
According to the expert, Turkmen products have good chances of export success in the European Union countries. Particularly great prospects will open up when producers combine their efforts to create a single collection of Turkmen products to promote them through specialized trade shows, for example, those that are held annually in Frankfurt and Paris.
Funded by the European Union and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, the workshop complements previous SARD III-organized activities related to further sustainable agriculture development, and aims to support the Government of Turkmenistan in achieving national policy objectives for sustainable agriculture and rural development, as well as strengthening supporting institutions for the agri sector.
