Azerbaijan, Baku, March 19 / Trend, A. Akhundov /
The amount of direct and indirect subsidies allocated to the Azerbaijani agricultural sector exceeded 611 million manat in 2012, head of the Agricultural Policy Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Azer Amiraslanov told Trend on Monday.
Around 36.3 percent of this amount (or 222.1 million manat) fell to the state budget payment for the cost of water for irrigation, 34.1 percent (or 208.7 million manat) - for tax incentives to producers of agricultural products, 9.3 percent (or 56.7 million manat) - to pay half of the cost of motor oil and fuel, 6.1 percent (or 37.2 million manat) - the difference in interest rates on preferential loans, 4.5 percent (or 27.7 million manat) - the difference in interest rates on preferential leasing, 4.1 percent (or 24.9 million manat) - for help in sowing of wheat or rice, and so on.
He said that on the whole, state funds worth 878.9 million manat were directed to the Azerbaijani agricultural sector in 2012.
Around 485.7 million manat (or 55.3 percent of funds allocated to the Azerbaijani agricultural sector from the state budget and from loans under state guarantee) in 2012 fell to irrigation and water management, 120.3 million manat (13.7 percent) - direct subsidies, 79.4 million manat (9 percent) - preferential loans, 55 million manat (6.3 percent) - fertilizers, machinery, 38.5 million (4.4 percent) - forestry, fishing, hunting and environmental measures, and so on.
The official exchange rate is 0.7848 AZN/USD on March 19.
