BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 8. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new malting barley processing plant, which will create a value chain for beer production in Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
According to the Azerbaijan Ministry of Economy, the project will be conducted on the grounds of Azersun Holding's Imishli sugar mill with the joint participation of Azersheker LLC, Azersun Agricultural Products LLC, and the Azerbaijan participation Company.
The factory will first process 11,000 tons of malting barley; a subsequent stage would handle 17,000 tons.
The company will fully satisfy the raw material needs of beer producers, including the largest among them, Carlsberg Azerbaijan. The investment cost of the project is 25 million manat ($14.7 million), and 50 people will be provided with permanent work at the enterprise.
Thanks to the plant's activities, there will be no need to import these products, which will prevent the outflow of more than $10 million from the country. The plant will also produce over 510 tons of feed additives.
Within the framework of the project, a silo complex with a capacity of more than 20,000 tons will be built for the storage of raw materials.
In addition, Azersheker LLC will plant barley, sugar beet, and food wheat on a territory of 8,000 hectares in Aghjabadi, Imishli, and Fuzuli districts.
Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Samad Bashirli informed the participants of the event about state support for stimulating the production of competitive non-oil products, improving the raw material base, creating new production sites for import substitution, and expanding export opportunities.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sarvan Jafarov noted that the opening of agricultural processing enterprises supports the activities of farmers.
Chairman of the Management Board of Azersheker Anar Mehdiyev provided information about the favorable investment environment created in Azerbaijan for entrepreneurs and pointed out that the plant, which will be built using Swiss technologies, will be the first such enterprise in the South Caucasus.
Director General of Agriculture and Processing Enterprises of Azersun Holding, Mohammad Gozal, noted the great importance of creating a raw material base in Azerbaijan for the production of final products.
Azersun Holding takes this factor into account in the production of feed, dairy products, canned fruits, and vegetables. The production of these products in Azerbaijan has become possible thanks to the use of local raw materials in the processing industry.
The CEO of Carlsberg Azerbaijan, Alius Antulis, stressed that the construction of the plant is a significant step in the localization of the production of raw materials used in brewing. The company's long-term strategy is to produce beer based entirely on local raw materials.
Azersheker and Carlsberg Azerbaijan has been implementing a project to grow malting barley in local conditions since 2019. Azerbaijan is cooperating with one of the leading producers of malting barley seeds in Europe, SECOBRA Recherches.