(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Qabil Ashirov read more The European market could be a light of hope for
Azerbaijan's farmers especially when Azerbaijan is eager to branch
out the export market currently.
Despite Agriculture making up 2.8 percent of the GDP, it takes
the lion's share in the non-oil-and-gas export of Azerbaijan.
Almost one-third of Azerbaijan's exported non-oil-and-gas products
belong to the Agriculture sector. In addition, over forty percent
of the population lives in rural areas in Azerbaijan and the
agriculture sector is considered a traditional economic sector. It
was the agriculture sector that restored itself very rapidly in
parallel with the oil sector after the collapse of the USSR when
the economy was also in the state of cessation in Azerbaijan. For
example, the export of fruits and vegetables have increased by 60
times over 30 years. So we dare say that Azerbaijanis are very well
in the production of agriculture.
However, for all that, there are big challenges lying in front
of Azerbaijani agriculture. Since the export of Azerbaijani
agriculture products heavily depends on Russian and Turkish
markets, the breakout of the Russo-Ukranian War and the earthquake
in Turkiye had an impact on the Azerbaijani agriculture. Azerbaijan
exports the bulk of fruits and vegetables to Russia and cotton to
Turkiye. The export of vegetables and fruits decreased slightly
since the inception of the war which is unusual for Azerbaijani
farmers because previously it used to increase year-by-year. As for
the export of cotton, it diminished by 2.7 times. Encountering such
big challenges, Azerbaijan intends to diversify its export regions.
Therefore regional director of the International Agricultural
Association for Eastern Europe Olga Hunger's interview with the
local media on Azerbaijan's possible export of fruits to Germany
caused a bit of interest. According to her, Azerbaijan can export
fruits to Germany which are not produced there, such as
pomegranate, citrus fruits, and nut. Given Hunger's comments in her
interview, some questions raised whether Azerbaijan is capable of
supplying Europe with agricultural products.
In a comment for Azernews on the issue economic
expert Eyyub Karimly said that Azerbaijan's export potential of
citrus fruits is not big. He mentioned that due to seasonal factors
and climatic conditions, citrus fruits do not fully meet domestic
demand.
“Even recently, the government exempted citrus fruits from
customs duties for the next year. This suggests that there are
insufficient amount of citrus fruits in Azerbaijan. As for the
export of nuts, Azerbaijan is one of the top five countries in the
world. Of course, this area can be expanded further, and the
European market is a very large and suitable market for this. This
can bring additional currency to Azerbaijan and have a positive
impact on the development of the non-oil and gas sector,” the
expert said.
E.Karimly pointed out that the fruits and vegetables produced by
Azerbaijan, such as pomegranates, persimons, apples and tomatoes,
for which the European market is suitable, and we can expand
cooperation with other EU countries, especially Germany, in this
field. He emphasized that the main buyer of Azerbaijan's
agricultural products is Russia, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war
has a negative impact on agricultural production.
“In such a case, the entry of Azerbaijan's agricultural products
to the European market can be a great opportunity for Azerbaijani
farmers. Recently extensive agreements were signed between
Azerbaijan and Lithuania, and through Lithuania's 7 free economic
zones, we can further increase our agricultural products to the
European Union,” the economist noted.
He also added that Azerbaijan should not be limited by only
exporting agricultural products to Europe, it must apply
EU-specific agro-technologies in Azerbaijan in order to increase
the productivity of Azerbaijani farmers. According to him, this can
create conditions for the expansion of productivity and the
development of agriculture and the quality production in
Azerbaijan.
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