BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 13. The first meeting of the Working Group on Inflation and Price Monitoring has been held in Azerbaijan, the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan said, Trend reports.
"The agenda of the meeting, chaired by head of the Working Group on Inflation and price monitoring, head of the Cabinet Office Rufat Mammadov, included consideration of price changes in the consumer market from January through September 2023, components of inflation, including food and non-food products, paid services rendered to the population, imports of products whose prices in the domestic market have increased by more than 10 percent and factors of their local origin," the Cabinet of Ministers said.
The group also considered world food prices and price dynamics in the countries - major trading partners, the issues of price index for imported products (import inflation), organization of fairs at producer prices and sale of agricultural products, measures taken to ensure a healthy competitive environment in the domestic market, and adjustment of the price monitoring system used by the relevant authorities.
The meeting highlighted downward trends in global inflation, especially global food prices. The food price index in September fell 10.7 percent over the past year, according to the latest data released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
The head of the working group noted the decline in prices in the world food markets, lower inflation in trading partner countries, maintaining the exchange rate stability of Azerbaijan's balance of payments surplus in the conditions of high oil prices and the reducing effect of this factor on inflationary imports and expectations. The Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On strengthening anti-inflationary measures" emphasized that a number of measures taken by relevant government agencies over the last period, as well as seasonal factors had a reducing effect on the inflation rate in Azerbaijan in recent months.
The latest data of the State Statistics Committee shows that the average annual inflation amounted to 10.9 percent from January through September 2023. Annual inflation for this period amounted to 5.1 percent. Taking into account anti-inflationary measures, the Ministry of Economy forecasts average annual inflation at 9.5 percent by the end of 2023 in single-digit terms.
One of the main tasks set by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan before the government is to achieve a single-digit inflation rate by the end of the year. The established Working Group on Inflation and Price Monitoring has also studied all the reasons having an upward impact on prices and carried out the necessary work on their elimination. In this regard, necessary measures will be continued to maintain inflation within the limits that do not harm macroeconomic and financial stability.
The project of the Competition Code is currently being discussed in Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis (Parliament), which is one of the most important issues. Adoption of the Competition Code will define the legal basis for entrepreneurs' activities in Azerbaijan under conditions of healthy competition, which is of great importance from the point of view of increasing favorable business environment and promoting free entrepreneurship. The new code is also aimed at protecting consumer rights and further improving the quality of products and services.
At the end of the meeting, the head of the working group gave appropriate instructions on the implementation of the Price Tracking System to the relevant institutions.
It was also noted that in order to ensure a healthy competitive environment in the domestic market, taking into account the high rise in prices of some vegetable products observed in recent days, the State Service for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan will strengthen operational and audit control measures against market entities that allow violation of competition, market division and price manipulation, and strict measures will be taken.