BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
Most of hazelnut processing factories in Azerbaijan have suspended their activity due to lack of hazelnuts, while those factories that continue to operate comply with all hygiene rules in connection with the special quarantine regime in Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Hazelnut Producers and Exporters Association Ismayil Orujov told Trend on April 22.
“Some 95 percent of the volume of hazelnuts planned to be sold since the beginning of the season was exported abroad from September 2019 through February 2020,” the chairman said. “Mass harvest of hazelnuts accounts for late August – September. The income from export since the beginning of the season amounted to 90 million manat ($52 million).”
Orujov reminded that the income from hazelnut export for 2019 amounted to $125 million.
"The demand of the domestic market for 2019 amounted to 1,500-2,000 tons,” the chairman said. “This figure accounts for 10 percent of the total volume."
“The export volume has amounted to 16,000 tons since the beginning of the season,” Orujov added. “The average yield of hazelnuts reached about 20,000 tons per year. The quality of the products which are grown by farmers, the new technologies which are used, the introduction of the European and ISO standards have already given the results, contributing to improving the quality of the product.”
Over the past two months, the export price of Azerbaijani hazelnuts reached about $6.2-6.5 per kilogram. For the same period, the price of Turkish hazelnuts reached $5.9 -6 while Georgian hazelnuts - $5.8.
The hazelnuts are mainly planted in Azerbaijan’s Gakh, Zagatala and Balakan districts.
The Azerbaijan Hazelnut Producers and Exporters Association was established in 2016 and presently, it includes 60 organizations.
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