TODAY.AZ / Business

Azerbaijan in Top 3 hazelnut exporters

12 December 2017 [13:46] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Aygul Salmanova

Baku hosted the 5th Donor Coordination Meeting jointly organized by the Agriculture Ministry and the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan.

The meeting was attended by about 20 international organizations and development agencies, including the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the Islamic Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Development Program, the European Union, Representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

While making remarks at the meeting the Deputy Agriculture Minister Seyfaddin Talibov said that programs adopted in various fields of agriculture, which are in special attention of the Azerbaijan’s President, and improved legislative base, allow to achieve strategic goals more quickly.

Azerbaijan provides 85-95 percent of itself with basic food products. If earlier the main goal of the development of the agrarian sector of Azerbaijan was to ensure food security, today priority is given to the production of competitive, export-oriented products, said the deputy minister.

“The production of competitive and export-oriented products is one of the goals of the strategic roadmap for the production and processing of agricultural products. At the same time, we must not forget about food security. I want to note that we have already achieved some successes, and we will continue to work in these areas,” Talibov said.

He noted that over the past 10 months, agricultural production in Azerbaijan grew by 4 percent, and the export rate reached 40-60 percent.

For January-October 2017, the export of non-oil products increased by 23 percent compared to the same period last year and reached a value of $1.219 billion, the Export Review Center of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications (CERC) notes.

At the same time, the main export commodity is tomatoes ($131.5 million); gold ($98.5 million); shelled hazelnut ($ 88.6 million) and polyethylene ($59.5 million).

The deputy minister also made remarks on the hazelnut production in the country noting that today Azerbaijan ranks third in export of hazelnuts in the world.

He said the country has already obtained a big amount of currency due to the export of hazelnuts.

“As many as 12,000 hectare-hazelnut orchards have been created in Azerbaijan,” he said. “The area of hazelnut orchards is expected to increase to 40,000 hectares in 2018. Azerbaijani hazelnuts are quite competitive in the world markets. Azerbaijan ranks third in export of hazelnuts."

According to the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council (INC), about 45,000 tons of hazelnuts will be produced in Azerbaijan this year, which is equivalent to 17,000 tons of hazelnut kernels.

As many as 8,000 tons of Azerbaijani hazelnut kernels have already been sold. The current price for Azerbaijani hazelnut kernels is $5.5 per kilogram.

The cultivation and processing of hazelnuts is one of the main directions providing Azerbaijan with foreign currency, if to consider that in 2016, the revenue from hazelnut exports was the highest among non-oil products of the country.

The association of hazelnut producers and exporters reports that incomes of Azerbaijani companies from hazelnut exports in the first quarter of 2017 amounted to $20 million, and this 3 percent more than the same period last year. Export of Azerbaijani hazelnuts in the first half of 2017 amounted to $32.3 million.

Today, more than 25,000 family farms, uniting about a hundred thousand people are operating in the field of hazelnuts production in the country.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/business/167699.html

Print version

Views: 2143

Connect with us. Get latest news and updates.

Recommend news to friend

  • Your name:
  • Your e-mail:
  • Friend's name:
  • Friend's e-mail: