Azerbaijan boosts exports of fruits, vegetables in 1H2020

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan increased export of fruits and vegetables by 2.2 percent in quantity terms and by 4 percent in value terms during the period of January-August 2020, local media has reported.

According to the report, the country exported 372,967 tons of fruits and vegetables worth $376.2 million during the reporting period.

Thus, the share of fruits and vegetables in the total volume of export was 3.81 percent, while in the non-oil exports it amounted to 32.63 percent.

The largest amount of export fell for tomatoes, with 154,119 tons worth $167.3 million. It should be noted that there is a growth in tomatoes export in quantity term by 15.7 percent and in value terms by 18 percent, compared to the same period of 2019.

Additionally, 9,930 tons of hazelnuts worth $60.6 million, 28,252 tons of apples worth $11.9 million and 17,947 tons of persimmons worth $14.1 million were exported during the reporting period.

Moreover, Azerbaijan imported 198,100 tons of mineral fertilizers worth $56.3 million, during the first eight months of the year. It should be noted that there were decrease of mineral fertilizers import in quantity terms by 4.3 percent and in value terms by 20.6 percent. Likewise, 33,178 units of motor vehicles worth $399.4 million were imported to the country during the reporting period. It should be noted that the number of imported vehicles increased by 24.3 percent during the same period of 2019.

Top three products in Azerbaijan’s non-oil export during the reporting period were fruit and vegetables, cotton fiber and aluminum and its products. Top three products in Azerbaijan’s non-oil import were machinery, equipment and facilities, food products and vehicles and their parts.

The volume of Azerbaijan’s foreign trade turnover amounted to $16.5 billion during the period of January-August 2020. The value of export amounted to $9.8 billion or 59.6 percent of the total turnover, while the value of import amounted to $6.6 billion or 40.4 percent. Thus, foreign trade turnover resulted in surplus of $3.1 billion.