Natig Jafarli Offers Customs to Explain Difference in Price of Butter in Baku and Tbilisi

Baku / 05.10.17 / Turan: Can the State Customs Committee explain why the New Zealand butter is sold in Baku at 18-19 manat a kilo, and in Tbilisi - at 10-11 manat, the economist Natig Jafarli wrote on his Facebook page in response to a statement by the State Customs Committee on the absence of a monopoly on the importation of butter into the country.

The Customs Committee issued a message stating that the increase in butter prices is not related to customs duties, since there have been no recent changes in duties.

Along with this, the Committee also refutes reports of a monopoly in this sphere, stating that 51 companies are engaged in importing butter into the country.

"Last year, butter was imported at 3.39 dollars a kilo, and this year it is imported at 4.28 dollars. The increase is due to the increase in butter prices in the world market," the State Customs Committee said in a statement.

N. Jafarli in his turn noted that if butter is imported to the country for $ 4.28 (or 7.2 manat), then with the addition of logistics costs it should cost 9.75 manat per kilogram.

"Why is butter sold for 18 manat? Where is it seen that the trade mark-up was one hundred percent?" the expert wonders.

Touching upon 51 butter importing companies, N. Jafarli stressed that if these companies belong to 3-4 persons, then this is already a monopoly. He said that more than a thousand legal entities and individuals are engaged in importing butter in Georgia, as a result of which a competitive market is being formed.

"The Customs Committee, why do residents of the border regions try to import butter to the country from Russia, Georgia, or Iran? The answer is simple - because the price there is lower than ours. And our customs officers do not allow them to carry 5-6 kilograms of butter across the border. The philosophy of customs is to protect the market and serve citizens, and not to encourage a group of people to get enriched," he concluded. -71D-