Baku, Azerbaijan, July 29
By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:
The radical reforms carried out in recent years in Azerbaijan in various
fields as part of the diversification of the national economy and the
strengthening the non-oil sector have contributed to the revival of the most
important branch of agriculture, namely cotton growing.
The development of this industry peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, but less
attention was given to it in subsequent years. As a result, sowing areas
were reduced to 18,000 hectares, and the production of raw materials made up
only 30,000 tons.
A similar situation has developed in industries once seen as 'traditional',
such as tea-growing, viticulture, and tobacco-growing. Appropriate measures
to stimulate the development of cotton production were taken after the
government set the task of increasing the area of cotton fields. As part of
state support for the development of cotton production in Azerbaijan, cotton
producers received subsidies for every kilogram of raw cotton sold to
processing enterprises.
With these steps, the revival of cotton-growing in Azerbaijan is being
accomplished through the expansion of sowing areas and the increase of
cotton yields per hectare.
Meanwhile, the turning point in cotton production in Azerbaijan came in
2016, when the country's plans for picking cotton were exceeded by more than
23 percent. Cotton harvest for 2016 had reached 86,327 tons, which was 2.5
times higher than the figure for the same period of 2015 (35,192 tons). The
largest amount of cotton was collected in Saatli district.
The cotton volumes are growing from year to year. For example, cotton was grown in 22 districts of the country in 2017. More than 136,000 hectares accounted for cotton crops, which greatly exceeded the area of lands allocated for cotton in 2016 (50,000 hectares) and in 2015 (18,700 hectares).
In 2018, cotton was sown in 22 districts of Azerbaijan, and the average yield was 14.6 centners per hectare. The highest yields were recorded in Samukh (21.77 centners per hectare), Barda (21.26 centners per hectare), Tartar (20.59 centners per hectare) and Aghjabadi (20.34 centners per hectare) districts. Some 260,000 tons of cotton were collected by the end of 2018.
Out of this volume, 108,641 tons of harvested cotton accounted for the share of “MKT Production Commercial” CJSC; 43,880 tons - Azerpambyg” CJSC; 25,936 tons - “P-Agro” CJSC; 9,960 tons - “Agro-Az” CJSC and "Goran Cotton" CJSC; and 5,474 tons - private crops.
Furthermore, a proposal was made to increase the purchase price of raw cotton in Azerbaijan. As a result, an agreement was reached at the meeting between the leadership of the Ministry of Economy and cotton producing companies to increase the purchase cost of a ton of raw cotton by 100-110 manats for each type.
The purchase price of a ton of raw cotton was planned to reach the following level in 2018:
- for cotton of the first grade - 600 manats (previously 500 manats);
- for cotton of the second grade - 580 manats (previously 470 manats);
- for cotton of the third grade - 540 manats (previously 440 manats);
- for cotton of the fourth grade - 500 manats (previously 400 manats).
As for 2019, cotton has been sown on an area of more than 132,000 hectares since the beginning of the year. According to the forecast, the production of raw cotton is planned to increase up to 500,000 tons by 2022 as part of the implementation of the State Program for the Development of Cotton Growing in Azerbaijan for 2017–2022, approved by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on July 13, 2017.
But that's not all. As part of the work on cotton production in 2019, there are plans to create an agricultural park in the Barda district. The implementation of this project has already begun.
There is noticeable progress in the direction of exports as well. For the five months of this year, cotton worth $68.8 million was exported.
In the cotton industry, Azerbaijan cooperates with such countries as Turkey, Greece, China and Australia. This opens up serious opportunities, including those for the production and export of textile products.
At the same time, the textile industry in Azerbaijan, especially in the last two years, has been very promising. For example, a major textile manufacturer, the company Gilan Tekstil Parki, which uses the cotton grown in Azerbaijan as a raw material for the manufacture of its products, establishes exports to foreign markets.
Weaving, dyeing and garment factories operate on the basis of the textile park Gilan, which began operation in Sumgait city in 2012, and cotton products are also used during the production at these enterprises. The state pays great attention to the development of the textile industry. For example, a preferential loan of 15 million manats was allocated by the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support under the Ministry of Economy for the construction of three factories worth a total of 46 million manats in the textile park.
Speaking about achievements in this field of agriculture, it is somewhat premature to assume that cotton growing will bring billions of US dollars to the economy of Azerbaijan in the coming years. But it is obvious that stimulating the development of this industry is extremely important to meet domestic demand and ensure access to foreign markets, as well as the development of the textile industry. Altogether, this promises a steady inflow of foreign and domestic investments in the state budget and significant reduction in the economy’s dependence on the oil sector.