BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 6
By Fidan Babayeva – Trend:
The sale of fresh persimmons is completely discontinued in Azerbaijan, Chairman of Azerbaijan's Association of Persimmon Producers and Exporters Gadir Yusifov, told Trend.
The chairman added that on the plantations in the regions of Azerbaijan, mainly in Goychay, Agdash, Balakan, Zagatala where persimmons are grown, necessary agricultural work is carried out.
“A number of countries, such as Russia, Ukraine, the UAE, and others have suspended imports of products for an indefinite period. This situation created serious problems for companies, because if the products are not sold now, the required funds will not be collected for the production of finished products the next year,” he said.
“All countries that were interested in buying Azerbaijani products and all regular foreign customers stopped import. Azerbaijan’s annual income from persimmon exports amounted to about $100 million,” Yusifov emphasized.
“The problem is that Azerbaijani persimmon production companies begin selling finished products in March, and given the situation that has developed around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, the volume of exports has sharply declined. The volume of finished products that should have been exported has already been produced, and sales have not yet completed,” the chairman said.
Touching upon the issue of selling persimmons in the domestic market, Yusifov noted that the demand for local persimmon products remained unchanged, adding that 20,367 tons of persimmons were sold domestically in 2019.
Association of Persimmon Producers and Exporters of Azerbaijan was created in August 2017 on the initiative of entrepreneurs and with the support of country’s Ministry of Economy.
The main objectives of the association are to increase the production of competitive and export-oriented products, as well as expand export of persimmons. Revenues from exports in 2019 significantly exceeded revenues for 2018, amounting to $114 million.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: Fidan_Babaeva