Media Review August 9, 2019

Success in the socio-economic field, a sharp drop in oil prices, and the reasons for the price increase are the topics of today's media.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes about successes in the socio-economic field. Nine industrial parks have been created in the country, 78 residents are registered in them, 45 of which have started activities. Of the planned 6.4 billion manat, 5.7 billion manat has already been invested.

According to the State Statistics Committee, for 6 months of this year, industrial enterprises and private entrepreneurs operating in that area produced products worth 23.6 billion manat, which is 1.8% more than the same period last year. The author provides further data on production in other areas.

The Yenisabah.az website writes about a drop in oil prices, discussing the issue with expert Vugar Bayramov, who believes that this was expected. Amid growing global tension, the topic of discussion is China's resumption of imports of Iranian oil. If this happens, the price of oil will drop to $ 30, the expert said. If we take into account that Azerbaijan"s export by 90% consists of energy products, then decrease in the currency entering the country will be inevitable.

The Cumhuriyyet newspaper asks a question about the reasons for the price increase with the stability of the manat. Expert Akif Nasirli believes that the wrong statistics are provided to the public. They declare that inflation in the country is at 6%, while in reality it is at 15%. According to the expert, price growth leads to an increase in domestic resources in the country's economy and the lack of stimulation of production.

The country's dependence on imports is growing. As a result, prices are rising. It is necessary to eliminate the monopoly, create strong competition, stimulate entrepreneurship and agricultural activities, implement economic diversification, and expand the country's domestic economic sources.