Azerbaijan's agriculture ministry plans to raise level of meat and milk processing

Agriculture Ministry of Azerbaijan plans to increase the level of processing of meat and milk produced in the country from 7.8 and 30 percent in 2010 to 50 and 60 percent respectively, Agriculture Minister of Azerbaijan Ismet Abbasov, said in an interview published in the magazine of Azerbaijani-Turkish Businessmen Association (ATİB).

"As of Jan. 1, 2011, Azerbaijan produced 253,800 tons of meat and 1.529.2 million tons of milk, however, only 7.8 percent of meat and 30 percent of milk were processed. One of the tasks is to bring the indicators to 50 and 60 percent respectively," said Abbasov.

He said today there are 27 meat processing enterprises and 54 milk processing enterprises.
"This volume partially meets the needs of the population for the meat and dairy products," said the minister.

According to Abbasov, in the future it is expected to increase sown area of forage plants to 500,000 hectares, respectively, increase the number of cattle and poultry, the volume of locally produced meat and dairy products.

"About $8.5 million have was allocated to develop livestock breeding in Azerbaijan in 2008-2010," said Abbasov.


/Trend/