BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.19
By Zeyni Jafarov - Trend:
Components of consumer spending in Azerbaijan decreased in 2020, Trend reports citing the review of the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA).
According to the review, the value of goods and services sold on the market in order to meet the needs of consumers in the reporting year made up 47.9 billion manat ($28.1 billion), having shrunk by 8.1 percent over the year.
Some 96.7 percent of the products and services were sold and provided by private entrepreneurship entities, including 52.1 percent – by individuals.
According to the CBA, for the reporting year, each consumer used goods and paid services by an average of 400.4 manat ($235.5) per month, which is 6.1 percent less than in 2019.
The value of retail trade lowered by 1.3 percent compared to 2019 and amounted to 40.2 billion manat ($23.6 billion). Retail turnover of food products increased by 3.4 percent, while the turnover of non-food products decreased by 6.1 percent.
In 2020, 54 percent of retail store funds were spent on food, beverage, and tobacco purchases. Expenditures in this segment grew by 3.3 percent compared to the previous year.
The value of the loan portfolio for households, which is one of the components of consumer demand, has decreased by 3.9 percent since the beginning of the year and amounted to 6.7 billion manat ($3.9 billion).
In January 2021, the cost of products sold in retail chains in Azerbaijan amounted to over 1.4 billion manat ($860 million), which is 1.9 percent more than in the same month of last year.
(1 USD = 1.7 manat on Feb.19)
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