Azerbaijan, transit country to sell Polish agricultural products to Iran

Poland considers Azerbaijan not only as its potential partner for cooperation in the agricultural sector, but also as a transit country for the sale of agricultural products to Iran, Polish Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Marek Sawicki said during his latest visit to Baku.

“Azerbaijan is a leading country in the region, but relations with Poland in agriculture, unfortunately, are limited,” he told Trend Agency. “During a meeting with Minister of Agriculture of Azerbaijan Heydar Asadov and representatives of business circles, we proposed bilateral cooperation, which includes both export and import of products, as well as our technical and advisory assistance. Poland can also help with the supply of equipment for the factories of meat and milk production. We can have a good exchange of fruits and vegetables.”

He also acknowledged that the trade turnover between the two countries in agriculture is quite low.

“The trade turnover is around 12 million euros,” Sawicki said. “During the last few years, it has grown, but we would like it to become even higher, because there are good capacities in this field.”

The minister went on adding that the embargo on the import of products into Russia has slightly affected the Polish export.

“Russia was not a major trading partner of Poland,” he said. “Russia ranked the 7th in the structure of Poland’s agricultural export. Of Poland's 20 billion worth of exports, only 1.3 billion accounted for Russia. In general, in 2013 Poland exported agricultural products worth 20 billion euros, and imported goods worth 13 billion euros.”

Sawicki believes his visit is only a preparatory stage within the framework of the forthcoming meeting of the Azerbaijani-Polish intergovernmental commission.

“This visit was made on my initiation to prepare a base for further development. This was accepted by our Azerbaijani partners with pleasure. Following this visit, several meetings will be held between the Polish and Azerbaijani businessmen. A meeting of the intergovernmental commission will also be held on December 15. Great attention will be paid to the issue of agrarian cooperation. We agreed on cooperation between our phytosanitary and veterinary inspections in the field of animal husbandry, etc," he said.

He also stressed that Azerbaijan has just started reforming its agriculture and Poland is ready to render any assistance in the implementation of these reforms.

"Azerbaijani Minister of Agriculture Heydar Asadov informed me about the huge investments which are planned to be made to reform the country's agriculture. We are ready to render any assistance in the implementation of reforms and share our experience." the minister said.

The minister went on noting that the major share in the export of agricultural products to Azerbaijan accounts for meat products.

“Azerbaijani market has a lot of chicken and beef sausages imported from Poland. We would also like to export our dairy products, but it is for the Azerbaijani partners to decide what to purchase,” he said. “ We need a local partner that knows the market and the needs of consumers in Azerbaijan. Moreover, Azerbaijan is a leading country in the region. Why does not Poland sell chicken or beef, for example, to Iran’s Azerbaijanis through Azerbaijan? There are 25 million Iran’s Azerbaijanis there.”

He also said unfortunately, Azerbaijani tea is not exported to Poland.

"Dried fruits, nuts and pomegranates are mainly supplied by Azerbaijan to Poland,” he said. “But, for example, there are no raisins and Azerbaijani tea in Poland. It is necessary for both sides to increase exports and imports. Our countries have everything necessary for this end.”

Poland recognized Azerbaijan's independence on December 27, 1991. The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on February 21, 1992.

The trade turnover between them amounted to 62.9 million mantas in the first nine months of 2014.