BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 24
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
The volume of hazelnut exported from Azerbaijan in the first quarter of 2020 reached 6,000 tons, President of the Azerbaijan Hazelnut Producers and Exporters Association (AHPEA) Ismayil Orujov told Trend on April 24.
“The income from hazelnut export amounted to $37 million. I should say that the exports decreased by 15 percent compared to the same period of last year. The reason for this is that many countries have stopped importing products due to the worldwide spread of coronavirus,” he noted.
Orujov stressed that the bulk of foreign export markets account for Russia and Italy. After the International Food Exhibition Gulfood-2020 in Dubai, AHEC (Azerbaijan Hazelnut Exporters Consortium) and Azhazelnut signed agreements on hazelnut export in the current year with Egyptian, Pakistani and Italian companies. The export was intended to be started in September this year, but the plans may be revised.
“More and more lands are being allocated for growing hazelnuts. 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,” said Orujov.
The hazelnuts are mainly planted in Azerbaijan’s Gakh, Zagatala and Balakan districts.
The Azerbaijan Hazelnut Producers and Exporters Association was established in 2016 and presently, it includes 60 organizations.
The largest hazelnut producer in the world is currently Turkey, as 75 percent of the global hazelnut production account for this country. Azerbaijan's share on the global hazelnut market is only 4 percent as of now, however according to foreign media, the country has great potential for further increase of hazelnut production.
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