Activities of the State Grain Fund kept secret

Information on the activities of the State Grain Fund (SGF) in the Ministry of Emergency Situations is held a secret, although experts believe that certain information should be made public in critical situations.

As you know, due to the negative processes in the global grain market (down yields, prices, etc.) in Azerbaijan increased the prices of flour and bakery products. One function of SGF acting in the country since 2009 is providing the local market with wheat in a crisis in order not to increase admission prices for bread. The Fund in such situations can sell wheat on the local market at the lowest price fixed by the Cabinet.

The State Agency for Material Resources under MOE refused to respond to Turan's written request, citing AR Law "On State Secrets", in which information about the financial reserves of the country is strictly protected.

This year, SGF twice announced the purchase of wheat from local producers. The term ad expires on November 15. Farmers are invited to sell wheat at 320 manats per 1 ton. It is noteworthy that, as a rule, the Fund refuses to buy local wheat, citing non-compliance with the quality set by the CM on July 7, 2009. The Fund adds storage due to import wheat, the contractual value of which is hidden. The Fund annually updates the warehouse, but it has never reported at what price the stocks are sold. An expert from NGO "Help Economic Initiatives" Azer Mehdiyev believes that SGF should be financially transparent.

In September, the government determined the maximum amount of grain stocks for the needs of SGF at 500 thousand tons. National Budget Group (a network of economic NGOs in the country) managed to get the order of the Cabinet of Ministers on 6 September 2012 on the allocation of 30.5 million manat to the Ministry of Emergency Situations to purchase 250,000 tons of wheat. How many of these orders of the government were taken before, what methods are used to sell the Fund's reserves in crises in the market, is just left to wonder.

According to the State Statistics Committee, in 2011, Azerbaijan imported 1,166,572 tons of wheat with a total declared value of $ 282 million. A ton of wheat was imported at the price of $ 241. - 08B-