Banana Imports Decreased by 35%

In the first quarter of this year Azerbaijan imported 4,371.5 tons of bananas from Ecuador. This is 35% less than for the comparable period of 2015.

The reasons for reducing the volume of purchases are not disclosed. Experts believe the main reason for this is to reduce the number of wedding ceremonies: if in January-March 2015, there were 17,000 marriages, then for the same period this year, there were 14.2 thousand. Bananas are an integral part of the fruit dessert on Azerbaijani weddings. In addition, the purchasing power of the population decreases. Bananas are now available in retail for approximately 3 manats per kg.

According to the State Customs Committee, the import of bananas was spent about 4 million USD in Q1, by $ 2.4 million less than in the comparable period of 2015.

Note that bananas, as well as other tropical fruits, are the subject of a monopoly. They are imported by a company with British capital, Asadov Capital.

In 2015, banana imports to Azerbaijan amounted to 19.6 thousand tons ($ 18.3 million).    ----08B