Azerbaijani agricultural production to grow by 4% annually until 2031

Director of the Agricultural Economics Research Centre under the Azerbaijani Agriculture Ministry Firdovsi Fikratzade has said that according to the forecasts of the Agricultural Economics Research Centre, the average annual growth rate in the Azerbaijani agrarian sector will reach four per cent in 2023-2030, taking into account the active development of fruit, cereal growing, animal husbandry.

“The growth rate will be maintained at four per cent thanks to the state support measures,” Fikratzade told Report.

"The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other international organisations predict the growth of the agricultural sector in the world at about 1-2 per cent," the director of the Agricultural Economics Research Centre noted.

He added that the agricultural production growth in Azerbaijan is connected with intensive fruit growing.

“There are several directions in intensive fruit growing in Azerbaijan. The cultivation of cherries, sweet cherries, plums, apricots, peaches is a new commercial direction in agriculture, this is the trend of recent years,” Fikratzade said.

The director of the Agricultural Economics Research Centre noted that more than 60,000 tons of stone fruits were exported in 2022, which is a historical record. The second area of agriculture in which we expect growth is hazelnuts and almonds. Hazelnut growing is a traditional area in Azerbaijan, and almond production, according to our expectations, will also grow.

He said that Azerbaijan imports 40,000-50,000 tons of citrus fruits per year, but for the first time in the history of the country, we exported 4,500 tons of citrus fruits in 2022, so we predict growth in this area too.