Budget 2025: costs are rising

In Azerbaijan, the minimum consumption basket may be reassessed next year. This was discussed during a joint meeting of parliamentary committees. The last changes to the consumption basket were made a decade ago. However, during this period, inflation has risen, and the cost of the minimum living standard has also increased. Moreover, some experts believe that the current minimum consumption basket in Azerbaijan requires significant updates, with the inclusion of additional goods and services.

Azerbaijan's draft state budget for 2025 prioritizes strategic objectives outlined by President Ilham Aliyev, including economic growth, social development, and reconstruction of liberated territories, according to senior officials speaking at a parliamentary session on Monday.

The management of the Baku Metro often announces projects for new underground lines and stations, but official information never includes data on the cost of laying a kilometer of track or building specific metro stations. Journalists sometimes obtain details from unofficial sources, raising doubts about the reliability of such information. For instance, in 2021, an unofficial government source reported a cost of 60 million manats for planned construction of a single station on the Purple Line. This figure excluded finishing works, installation of communication lines, electronics, escalators, and elevators.

Azerbaijan’s livestock sector has demonstrated modest growth in domestic production, yet it faces significant challenges as imports of meat and dairy products surge. Recent data from the State Statistics Committee underscores this dichotomy, revealing increases in local output but an even sharper rise in imports, accompanied by persistent price inflation.