Statistical data has shown that export volumes of tomatoes from Azerbaijan, also in Russia, continues to increase, while import is decreasing.
Should the Russian Federation government take the decision on banning state purchase of imported tomatoes, it will not influence Azerbaijan export to the neighboring country, mentioned the Minister of Agriculture of Azerbaijan, Mr. Firdovsi Fikretzade.
The government of the Russian Federation are planning to discontinue purchasing the imported tomatoes and cucumbers since April of the coming year. The ban will be applied to the produce, obtained at the cost of budget, allocated for state and municipal needs.
“Such a decision will not have complications for our country as the produce purchased with the state budget for the needs of the state constitutes only 2-3% of the overall vegetable volume imported from Azerbaijan,” mentioned Mr. Fikretzade.
He reminded that last year Azerbaijan exported 172 thousand tons of tomatoes costing 177 million USD. January to October 2019 139.5 thousand tomatoes of 147 million dollars were delivered to Russia.
As for the import of tomatoes to Azerbaijan, in 2018 it comprised 990 tons and within the 10 month of the current year the number dropped to 284 tons. This means that import is decreasing significantly, and Azerbaijan is becoming the exporter of this vegetable, noted Mr. Fikretzade.
The government of Azerbaijan have also implemented additional customs duties for tomato import: “The toll for all products equals 15% and we have introduces a new one for every kilo of tomatoes, which allowed us to limit the import of vegetables from other countries and support the local producer.”
According to the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan, January to September 2019 the production of tomatoes, which are the main greenhouse crop has increased in comparison with the same period of 2018 by 0.1% and amounted to 189.2 thousand tons.
Source: sputniknews.ru