BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 14
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
The Azerbaijan Hazelnut Producers and Exporters Association (AHPEA) carried out large-scale measures to combat pests of crops in the country and encouraged farmers to actively participate in these measures, the president of the Association Ismail Orujov told Trend.
According to the association’s assessment, these events yielded tangible results, Orujov noted.
“More and more lands are being allocated for growing hazelnuts, it is important to fully form a mechanism for cooling products and exporting them,” said the association’s president. “In the coming years, it is planned to increase the yield. Presently, 80,000 hectares of hazelnuts have been planted. However, the effect will be noticeable only after 3-4 years.”
Orujov reminded that the income from hazelnut exports for 2019 amounted to $125 million.
“The demand of the domestic market for 2019 amounted to 1,500-2,000 tons, and this figure makes 10 percent of the total volume,” added Orujov.
The president of the association emphasized that the average yield of hazelnuts per year was about 20,000 tons.
The quality of farmers’ products, the new technologies used, the introduction of European and ISO standards have already yielded results, contributing to improving the quality of the product, Orujov said.
“Over the past two months, the export price of Azerbaijani hazelnuts has amounted to about $6.2-$6.5 per kilogram,” noted the association’s president. “For the same period, the price of Turkish hazelnuts amounted to $5.9-$6, and for Georgian - $5.8.”
In 2018, hazelnuts worth a total of $105 million were exported from Azerbaijan. Hazelnut orchards are mainly located in Azerbaijan’s Gakh, Zagatala and Balakan districts.