The first Alliance of Exporters of Juices is expected to be found and then presented by an initiative of AZPROMO, Azerbaijan Export and Investments Encouragement Fund in February, 2007, Trend reports.
Teymour Taghiyev, the Marketing Manager in the Field of Export Encouragement, told Trend that preparatory works with the producers of juices were still underway, and the alliance could not be found earlier, as it was expected. Determining the administrative body (AZPROMO is most likely to become it) which is to regulate the activity of the forthcoming alliance remains the key issue.
The key issue in uniting efforts of the producers of juices is to solve issues which have been existed in the industry on production of juices for a long time. The issue on technology of standards is marked among them. Today, juices are being produced in Azerbaijan without any observance of up-to-date technologies. The existing technologies on production of juices do not meet with modern requirements. A new unified Azerbaijani brand will be introduced with the foundation of the forthcoming alliance, and concrete producers will have no need to advertise their production separately any more. The forthcoming brand will have its own sign of quality, and if the production is marked with this sign, the juices will be produced according to the European standards.
The alliance will also be engaged in marketing and placing Azerbaijani juice at international markets, admitted the AZPROMO representative.
According to him, Azerbaijan has unique fruits (pomegranate, feijoa, and quince), therefore, there is a real natural base to produce juices here. The country has a potential production capacity and facilities, but the technologies are used incorrectly, and the producers are oriented first of all to the Russian market, where juices with different additives are exported. The juices contain sorbitol вЂ" an additive, which are cannot be used as an additive according to the European standards, and al that is due to the technological issue.
Mr. Taghiyev considers that the possibility to change the standards and apply new technologies will become available within a half of year. All that, thereby, will enable to reorient the local producers to the European markets.