Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend I.Khalilova / The German Society of Technical Assistance (GTZ) has completed its marketing research for nuts in Azerbaijan, said the President of Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Found (AZPROMO), Emil Mejidov.
The search was attended by nearly seven local walnut-producing companies. According to Mejidov, during the monitoring the amount of production capacity by each of the producers was defined.
The necessity to assess the process of production, preserving and the transportation of the walnuts is linked with the ban on the export of walnuts from Azerbaijan to European countries. AZPROMO is negotiating with the European Union to cease the ban.
The ban was due to Aflatoxin being detected in the composition of nuts exported from Azerbaijan to European markets, which occurred through the violation of transportation and storage conditions. The manufacturers cannot resolve the problem, and therefore, it is planned to establish an alliance of nut exporters in the near future. Its key aim will be to resolve the problem of Aflatoxin and organize production in accordance with European standards.
The State Agency for Standardization, Metrology and Patent has purchased special laboratories to inspect the nuts. The Head of the State Agency, Ramiz Hasanov, recently said that the Azerbaijani products will be exported to foreign markets from September. Currently the key producers of nuts are BakFem, Gilan, ElFem which have the capacity for large productions. BakFem and Gilan have been fully supplied with European equipment, but they have technical and management problems.