BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 13
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
This week in Azerbaijan started with a statement made by the Agro Services Agency about the conditions for making the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dangerous animal diseases, Trend reports citing the Agency under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Agriculture.
The specialists and veterinarians will carry out diagnostics, prevention and treatment of dangerous animal diseases on the basis of an agreement with the Agency.
This will support the activity of free veterinarians and will also allow veterinarians to work with a big number of specialists, which in turn will ensure the quality of the rendered services.
The approval of a sample agreement on cooperation of veterinarians with the representatives of the Agency will be the next step.
The amount of export of agricultural products from Azerbaijan has been also announced within the cooperation with USAID this week.
Agricultural products worth more than $80 million have been exported over the past six years as a result of USAID's cooperation with Azerbaijani agricultural enterprises selected within two projects, $25 million of that volume account for new markets in Europe and the Middle East.
Thanks to the improved agro-technical experience offered by USAID, nut crops have increased by almost 100 percent, berry and fruits crops - by 40 percent and harvest of vegetables by 35 percent.
Moreover, this week the Azerbaijani Ministry of Agriculture has extended the suspension of seasonal fairs organized in the country.
In connection with the coronavirus in the country, the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers has banned mass events. The events will be restored after the Operational Headquarters authorizes holding of such events. Holding of honey fair has also been postponed.
The Ministry of Agriculture has announced this week an increase in the production of melons and gourds which are grown in greenhouses by the end of 2020.
Some 363,200 tons of melons and gourds were grown from January through July 2020, which is 3.8 percent more than in the same period of last year.
Moreover, by the end of the week the ministry announced about the changes in prices for melons and gourds.
As of September 7, 2020, the price of a kilogram of melon decreased by 38.5 percent compared to the same period of 2019 and amounted to 32 qepik (19 cents) in the Baku-Meyvеli wholesale market.
The price of a kilogram of watermelon decreased by 10.5 percent compared to the same period of 2019 and amounted to 17 qepik (10 cents).
(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on Sept. 12)
Fidan Babayeva
Department of Economics at Trend News Agency