Last year, Azerbaijani producers were unable to sell their crops and suffered losses due to problems with exports to Russia. Many of them did not plant tomatoes in 2022, which is the reason for the limited supply of products on the market.
Prices for tomatoes have risen sharply in Azerbaijan. If in June they cost an average of 0.8 manats per kilogram, then in July – already 1.85 manats. That is, prices for tomatoes rose 2.3 times over the month, and compared to July last year (0.55 qepiks) – 3.4 times.
The market is in short supply
Agricultural expert Mirjavid Hasanov told Sputnik Azerbaijan that tomatoes are getting more expensive for two reasons.
According to him, firstly, last year, producers were unable to sell their crops and suffered losses due to problems with exports to Russia. Many of them did not plant tomatoes this year, which is the reason for their limited supply on the market.
The second reason is that Azerbaijan now exports to Russia products grown in the open field, which have always been supplied to the local market. Therefore, there was a shortage of tomatoes in the domestic market, which is the reason for the rise in prices, the expert noted.
Exit – in specialization
“Today, tomatoes of the Khachmaz variety, grown in open ground, are sold at 0.6-1 manat per kilogram. Last year in Khachmaz they cost 0.1-0.15 manat per kilogram. For several years, the price for them has not exceeded 0.2 manats,” Hasanov said.
According to him, in order for the market not to face a shortage, economists should, on the basis of the conducted research, prepare forecasts about which vegetable crops will be profitable to plant next season. At the same time, political and economic aspects must be taken into account.
“On the other hand, we do not have a narrow specialization: those who have been planting onions for a long time suddenly start growing tomatoes. Therefore, farmers either face losses or benefit. If there is specialization, it will be easy to make such forecasts,” Gasanov said. .
The expert also noted that the current and future years are favorable for tomato farmers.
Russia is the leader in the import of Azerbaijani tomatoes
It should be noted that in January-July 2022, Azerbaijan exported 112.2 thousand tons of tomatoes worth $134.2 million.
According to the State Customs Committee, during the reporting period, the export of these products to Russia amounted to 109.4 thousand tons for $129.8 million. Deliveries increased over the year in value terms by 3%, but quantitatively decreased by 4.4%.
In January-July 2022, Russia accounted for 97.5% of tomato exports from Azerbaijan. The growth in income from supplies is associated with a rise in the price of products.
Tomatoes are regularly ranked among the top 3 exported non-oil products. According to the results of the first half of 2022, their share in Azerbaijan’s non-oil exports amounted to about 8.5%.
Recall that in December 2020, the import of Azerbaijani tomatoes to the Russian Federation was banned due to the detection of pests in them. However, as a result of cooperation between the parties, the problems that arose were resolved. In March 2022, Russia completely removed restrictions on the import of these products from Azerbaijan.
At the end of 2021, 96.5% of the export of Azerbaijani tomatoes (140.11 thousand tons for $157.559 million) went to Russia. Last year, Azerbaijan as a whole reduced the export of these products by 22.6% compared to 2020 – to 145.2 thousand tons.
