AmCham Azerbaijan - Devaluation Hit Interests of Wholesalers

According to the survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham Azerbaijan), the devaluation of the manat on February 21 this year greatly struck the interests of local wholesalers (suppliers of goods and services). They require a renegotiation of the contracts signed before the devaluation of the national currency.

The survey was conducted in late March among 101 companies representing the oil and gas sector, information and communication technology, banking, tourism and other popular segments of the economy.

According to the figures, 63.4% of the respondents answered positively to the question of whether their vendors requested them to revise the terms of the contracts, and 36.6% answered negatively. At the same time, 71.8% of the respondents said they had not yet faced with a delay of delivery of products and services.

Among the respondents, only 24.4% of the companies confirmed that they intend to compensate their employees the consequences of the devaluation, while 39.5% of the respondents have not yet made a decision on this matter.

Over 80% of the respondents declared their readiness to compensate their workers for losses from the devaluation by increasing the salaries and the rest intends to do that by lump-sum payments or by increasing premiums. A third of the companies surveyed indicated that they were inevitably forced to increase prices, 22.7% - to reduce staff, 17.3% - to reduce social benefits (cost of food, transportation, insurance), and 13.3% were in favor of terminating their projects.

AmCham Azerbaijan founded in 1996 brings together 275 local and foreign business companies. It provides 80% of all foreign and a significant portion of local investment in Azerbaijan. --17D-