BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 12. The import of food products in Azerbaijan has increased, Member of Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis (Parliament) Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship Vugar Bayramov said, Trend reports.
"In the first ten months of this year, Azerbaijan's foreign trade turnover was $37.3 billion." Exports totaled $23.1 billion, while imports totaled $14.1 billion. During this period, imports grew by 4.6 percent while exports declined by 7.7 percent," said Bayramov.
Lower energy prices compared to the previous year, he claims, lowered the value of exports. However, the import growth pattern has maintained.
"In other words, we imported more goods than in the same time the previous year. Imports remove foreign exchange from the country, but exports bring in foreign exchange. In this regard, an increase in imports is unfavorable in terms of foreign exchange outflow. Food imports also increased during this period. Imports of beef climbed by 93.3 percent, cigarettes by 48.9 percent, flour confectionery by 12.7 percent, chocolate and chocolate goods by 12.6 percent, and fresh vegetables by 4.9 percent. Recent figures demonstrate that it is critical to expedite the import substitution process. It is especially important to reduce reliance on imports by increasing domestic food production," the MP said.
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