Dependence on food imports remains high

The State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan issued a statistical report on food balance sheets for 2013, according to which for many agricultural and industrial food products remains low level of self-sufficiency.

The report consists of five sections, including crop and livestock products, food products of industrial origin, the level of self-sufficiency, dependence on imports, etc. The data are presented from 2007 to 2013 inclusive.

According to estimates of the State Statistics Committee, in 2013 the balance of wheat totaled 4,364,800 tons, which is 9.5% more than in 2012. Wheat production (1.846 million tons) exceeded imports by 395,000 tons. For food were used about 2 million tons of wheat (+ 79 000 tons the previous year). Wheat shows stunning loss - 271 000 tons per year. Level of dependence on wheat imports in 2013 amounted to 44%, an increase of 0.8%.

Self-sufficiency and beef products from it in 2013 decreased, reaching 86.5% (minus 6.5%) when consumed in excess of 140,000 tons. Poultry production is growing: in 2007, the demand for poultry meat by 30% met through imports, in 2013 (100 000 tons), this figure had fallen to 3.8%.

If you believe the statistics, compared with 2007, the volume of consumption of milk and dairy products in Azerbaijan rose by 792,000 tons and in 2013 amounted to 2.548 million tons. Of these, 76.2% was achieved at the expense of local production, which is 3.4% higher than the figure for 2012. - 08B-