Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 21
By Huseyn Veliyev - Trend:
Azerbaijan increased tomato exports to Russia in 2018, Bashir Guliyev, head of the Fruit and Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association, told Trend.
Despite that official statistics have not yet been made public, there is a reason to believe that the results of 2018 will be higher than those of 2017.
"In 2017, the tomato exports to Russia amounted to 150,000 tons, but in 2018 this amount was reached in October. So, the figures for 2018 will be higher. Tomato ranks first in the vegetable exports," Guliyev said.
Commenting on the product quality, Guliyev noted that local products are of high quality and do not contain GMOs.
"The import of products with GMOs into Azerbaijan is prohibited and it is regulated at the state level. Producers buy the seeds that are included in the state registry of varieties. Accordingly, all of them have been tested. Among other things, quality tests of the fruit and vegetable products supplied for exports and for the domestic market are held almost every day. This issue is under the control of the Food Safety Agency. Tests are also carried out at the sales points," Guliyev said.
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