The State Ensures Stability of Prices for Bread

In Azerbaijan, the government almost completely took control of the import of wheat - more than half of it is financed by the state.

This year, the Cabinet of Ministers decree established unwritten volume of state reserves of grain Fund at 750 thousand tons, with annual imports of about 1.4 million tons. The last time the government informed the public on the establishment of a procurement volume of wheat for state reserves of 500 000 tons in September 2012.

In one of the grain companies they told Turan that the cereal stocks at the Material Reserves Fund of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan are provided by five private companies. They fill the coffers of the new season wheat and old stock is sold to flour mills. Currently the purchase of grain is from Russia. The goods cross the border of Azerbaijan at $ 230-240 per 1 ton.

"The current prices are beneficial only for bread companies that have a good margin, and the importers also have a small advantage. In the current environment, if a kilo of flour increases 1.5 manat, prices should remain unchanged,"said a representative of the importer.

In value terms, imports of wheat for the first nine months of this year decreased by 42% to $ 172.2 million. In the first quarter of this year, the retail price of flour in Azerbaijan exceeded $ 600 per 1 ton.

According to the State Customs Committee, in the first half year Azerbaijan imported 533.7 thousand tons of wheat with a total declared value in excess of $ 139 million or 262.1 $ / ton. The bulk of production (400 000 tons) was purchased in Kazakhstan.

In 2013, the volume of wheat imports in Azerbaijan amounted to 1.442 million tons.

The State Grain Fund was established in 2008, and the Regulations on the formation and use of its reserves were approved in 2009. Initially the Fund bought up to 280,000 tons of wheat per year. --08B--