BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7
Trend:
The processing industry should be given priority, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his closing speech at the conference dedicated to the results of first year implementation of "The State Program on socio-economic development of the regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2019-2023", Trend reports.
“As I have already mentioned, preference in industrial production will be given to the non-oil sector,” the Azerbaijani president said. “Last year, growth in this sector amounted to more than 14 percent and should be continued this year. I would like to touch upon a few questions here. I believe that the processing industry should be given priority. State bodies also need to pay more attention to this area. Low-interest loans should also be channeled in this area. Let entrepreneurs pay more attention to it themselves. We must do everything in a consistent manner. Of course, we procure and export our fruits and vegetables. Exports are growing, which is great. But processed goods are more expensive.”
“We need to create a value chain,” Ilham Aliyev noted. “Therefore, I believe that special attention in agriculture should be given to the processing sector. I can cite a few examples. Today, viticulture is developing at a very high rate in Azerbaijan. Thousands of hectares of vineyards established in recent years are producing crops today. Last year alone, grape harvesting increased by 34,000 tons. This directly creates the wine-making industry and we are exporting our wines to many countries now. The same applies to tobacco growing. Thanks to the development of tobacco growing, a new cigarette factory has been set up in Sumgayit and the Baku cigarette factory has been reconstructed. We must fully provide and will provide for domestic needs.”
“In previous years, the countries that did not procure tobacco used to sell cigarettes to us,” said the Azerbaijani president. “This is nonsense. We have both tobacco and conditions. So this is a manifestation of the development of the processing sector. It also includes cocoon production because a chain is also being created here – from cocoon harvesters to the Sheki silk factory. There, too, hundreds of people are already provided with work. Thousands of people are provided with work in the villages. They receive large sums of money in 30-40 days and without doing much of the hard work.”
“Cotton-growing directly preconditions the processing sector,” Ilham Aliyev noted. “Growth in cotton production is 46 percent. Last year, exports totaled $158 million. However, we can process 50 percent of the cotton in our country. What is necessary to do this? New spinning and textile factories, and finished goods factories. This chain is interconnected, so entrepreneurs should pay attention to this area and government bodies should point entrepreneurs in these directions. Thus, the development of the light industry will be ensured, jobs will be created, finished products will be produced and we will not import them. It is clear that all this is interconnected. Money will stay here in our country.”
“The same holds true for vegetable growing,” the Azerbaijani president added. “The vegetable processing industry is at a very low level. We collect vegetables, consume and export them. This is good, but they have to be processed too. For example, last year our exports in vegetable growing amounted to $243 million. Of these, $190 million worth were the exports of tomatoes, which grew by 7 percent. But if there is a sufficient number of tomato paste factories, then we can sell it at a higher price. Moreover, these products are in demand in all markets. Entrepreneurs should pay attention to this. I regularly voice these figures, Azerbaijan’s self-sufficiency factor, so that local entrepreneurs could fill in these gaps.”
“However, I see some passivity,” said Ilham Aliyev. “Therefore, government agencies need to shake up entrepreneurs and take the initiative into their own hands. Especially when we consider that the state has created all the conditions, conducts all exhibitions and takes business people abroad. We have increased the exports of wine. Due to what? Due to the efforts of the state because it is through the state and at the expense of the state that people participate in international exhibitions where contracts are concluded. After all, the entrepreneur does not do this himself.”
“Unfortunately, we have major violations in the field of alcoholic beverages,” the Azerbaijani president noted. “The statistics were confusing. Why? Because entrepreneurs produce both vodka and wine! They write that they had produced such and such products in order to earn more. Of course, this is also being stopped and will be stopped. There should be transparency in every area, everyone should know this. Therefore, such tricks should stay in the past.”
“Fruit growing, for example,” Ilham Aliyev added. “Fruits worth $240 million have been exported and an increase of 11 percent was registered. But among these fruits there are hazelnuts. Hazelnuts worth $125 million have been exported, an increase of 33 percent. Due to what? Thanks to the state again. At that time, I issued the instruction to set up hazelnut gardens. Hazelnut gardens in our country covered an area of 30,000 hectares. Now we have brought it to 80,000 hectares. Who did this? The state did! Why don’t business people plant them themselves?”
“The state has done everything – both in connection with cocoons and in connection with cotton,” the Azerbaijani president said. “How long will this last? Let entrepreneur do the same. Today they receive a lot of money from cotton and hazelnuts. Fine, may they become even richer. But let them take the initiative as well. We will carry out this work anyway because our state needs it and entrepreneurs are also our citizens. An entrepreneur pays salaries to dozens, hundreds or maybe even thousands of employees. Therefore, what is the purpose of such associations and conferences?! Some of those present here are heads of the executive authorities, heads of central executive bodies and entrepreneurs.”
“There should be an open discussion in the second part of this conference,” Ilham Aliyev noted. “Slogans or statements are unnecessary. We need a candid conversation, let the entrepreneurs say what problems there are and where the solutions lie. And let representative of the state say where there are violations and say in a friendly manner: “correct this, this is the last warning, if you can’t fix it, you will have only yourself to blame”.”
“These are the issues that should be discussed here today,” the Azerbaijani president said. “We need to make sure that starting from 2020 all these tricks, manipulations, falsifications and payments bypassing the cash desk remain in the past. The delivery of undeclared goods, the declaration of one product while the cargo consists of completely different products – state bodies know and knew about all this. Some simply turned a blind eye to that and conspired. This time is over. I am telling you: it's over. Therefore, everyone should work the way I said and that's all.”