The Foreign Trade of Azerbaijan with agricultural commodities - problems and challenges

V. Suleymanov

Abstract: The Republic of Azerbaijan is located in the East part of the South Caucasus at the West coast of the Caspian Sea, in the Asia Minor Region. The geographic location allows the country to carry out an active foreign trade. In the article is analyzed the foreign trade of Azerbaijan with agricultural goods, disclosing the problems and challenges arising during the period of establishment of national independence of the country and the transition from planned to market economy. The place of the agricultural trade in the foreign trade of Azerbaijan is determined. The trends of the positive and negative changes of the value volume of the agrarian export are studied and found out. The export marks growth only for nine of the twenty four commodity groups. The increased export on account of the exported quantities at a lower export prices level forms a trend of extensive agrarian export. The restructuring of the agrarian trade is analyzed, disclosing the problems out flowing from the increasing and in multiple times larger import than export. Azerbaijan follows its tradition to produce raw
materials for export and to import processed products. As a CIS member, the greater part of the export of agricultural commodities is directed toward this market. From the CIS are imported mainly crop products, before all grains and grain mill products, which represent a highest value in the currency expenses. Certain breakthroughs of European and US markets are attempted. It is recommended to direct the foreign trade policy toward an increase of the export of processed products - confectionery, vegetable and fruit juices, canned fish, as they provide higher stability and sustainability of the export, compared to the one of unprocessed products.

Keywords: agrarian export; export prices; foreign trade; import

Date published: 2018-03-30