BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7
By Maryam Mizrakli - Trend:
A total of 1,120.6 tons of olives were harvested in Azerbaijan in 2019, Chairman of Azerbaijan Olives Production and Export Association Elnur Mirzaliyev told Trend Jan. 7.
Mirzaliyev noted that this indicator is encouraging, because in 2018, due to weather conditions, the harvest fell sharply from 1,679.5 to 1,073 tons.
“Of the harvest in 2019, 60 percent accounts for Baku, 35.4 percent for the Absheron administrative district and only 4.6 percent of olives from the total share of the harvest account for other Azerbaijani districts,” the chairman added.
“This is because there are many olive trees in the territory of Baku and Absheron peninsula, where the climate zone is ideal for the growth of olives,” Mirzaliyev said. “Olive orchards throughout the country already cover almost 4,000 hectares. Crops are growing in the Aran region.”
Azerbaijan has the potential to greatly increase the production of olives, and even export them in the future, the chairman noted. Meanwhile, the presence of a great number of foreign products in Azerbaijani markets is related to the reluctance of local manufacturers to compete, Mirzaliyev added.
The benefits of olives for the body are determined by their composition. Olives contain fiber, A, E, B group vitamins, mineral elements, amino acids (including essential ones), linoleic and oleic acids.