Decree on Stimulating Sugar Beet Production in Azerbaijan Signed

Producers of sugar beet will be paid a subsidy in the amount of 4 manat per ton for processing, beginning from 2017. The decree of President Ilham Aliyev was signed on April 4 in order to stimulate sugar beet production in the country.

According to the head of the plant growing department of the Ministry of Agriculture Imran Jumshudov, this year the areas under sugar beet will double and amount to about 15 thousand hectares. It is expected to collect 600-700 thousand tons of sugar beet. “In this and in the following years the Imishli sugar factory is planned to be provided with local raw materials. And the new mechanism of subsidizing is aimed at ensuring this task,” the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture noted.

In 2016, sugar beet was planted in Azerbaijan on 7,100 hectares and 344 thousand tons of sugar beet was harvested. A ton of the crop is purchased at a price of 60 manat. Last year, sugar beet producers received a subsidy from the state in the amount of 50 manat per 1 ha. From this year, the amount of subsidy will depend on the yield. In 2016, the yield was 44 tons, an increase of 6 tons from 1 ha. Even at this level of yield, subsidies will increase by 3.5 times.  ----08B