Under shadow of olives: Azerbaijan increasing olive oil export Analysis by Caliber.Az

In the last decade, a number of programs aimed at increasing agricultural production and processing capacities have been implemented in Azerbaijan. Work has also intensified to expand the area of garden farms in agricultural parks and other industry clusters. Agricultural projects are also being implemented on the Absheron Peninsula, whose soil and climatic conditions provide unique opportunities for the development of olive fruit growing. The next step in this direction was the opening of the largest plant in the region for the production of olive oil and canned olives in the village of Zira in Baku's Khazar district. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took part in the enterprise's inauguration ceremony.

In the coming years, the domestic agricultural complex should provide 90 per cent of domestic food consumption and significantly increase the volume of food exports. In this regard, the government of the republic is implementing a number of state programs providing, along with the development of the basic branch of the agricultural sector – grain growing, to multiply the production of demanded oilseeds. This is a strategically important goal since in the context of the global food crisis and imported inflation, the prices of vegetable oils have increased many times over the past two years. In this regard, it is planned to intensify olive fruit growing in Azerbaijan.

The peak of the development of this industry in the republic occurred in the second half of the 20th century, and most of the olive plantations were located on the Absheron Peninsula, the soil and climate of which are ideal for growing this crop. In the 70-80 years, several state farms were engaged in the cultivation of olives in the villages of Gala, Hovsan, Zigh, Buzovna, and part of the olive plantings were located within the capital, on the territory of micro districts 7 and 9. The area of olive gardens reached 1,600 hectares and if you add here small plots or trees planted in parks and forest belts that do not have significant production value, then the total area allocated for this crop reached 2,000 hectares. In the harvest years and with appropriate care, the annual harvest of olives reached 6,000 tons. The processing of olives was carried out by Mashtagha and Hovsan canneries, whose products - unrefined olive oil and canned olives - were in steady demand not only in the Union republics but also exported to many countries of the world.

However, in the early 90s, the industry fell into deep decline, olive groves were massively cut down, and these territories were often allocated for the construction of housing and commercial facilities. Only by the end of the first decade of the new century, the situation in the industry began to gradually change for the better - it was possible to stop the uncontrolled cutting of olive trees, to preserve about 1,200 hectares of olive orchards untouched. In general, the hopes for a full-fledged revival of olive fruit growing in Azerbaijan are quite real: despite the fact that some of the plantations have been abandoned, the harvest here can be doubled with proper care. Investing in this crop is by no means unprofitable: the olive is very resistant to drought, pests and diseases, does not require expensive fertilisers, and bears fruit within a few years after planting. Therefore, with the assistance of the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support and other relevant government agencies, a number of local companies invested in the revival of olive orchards in the villages of Absheron - Gala, Turkan, Hovsan, Zira and Ramana. Over the past 10 years, six medium-sized and large enterprises have been established in the country for canning and extracting oil from olives, and in addition to the domestic market, these products are actively exported to post-Soviet countries, Türkiye and the Persian Gulf states.

The only obstacle to the development of the industry remains the comparative narrowness of the raw material base. To overcome this factor, five to seven years ago, at the initiative of the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry, new olive gardens were laid on an area of 2,000 hectares on the territory of the joint-stock company "Landscape Creation and Landscaping of Azerbaijan". Already in 2017, they brought a harvest of 1,000 tons. At the same time, the environmental agency has identified an area of 5,396 hectares for the laying of new olive plantations as part of landscaping projects in the next five years. It is predicted that taking into account the expansion of plantings and the growth of trees, by 2025 the olive harvest can be brought to about 15,000 tons.

In 2017-2021, the planting of olive trees was also activated by the private sector, setting up plantations in agricultural parks located in various regions of the republic, and already by the end of last year, the harvest in these clusters amounted to 921 tons of olives. The volunteers of the IDEA Public Association have also contributed to the revival of olive groves: in recent years, by the plan of planting green spaces, olives have also been planted in various places on the Absheron Peninsula.

A significant contribution to the development of the industry was realised in the village of Zira in Baku's Khazar district, where on November 4, with the participation of the head of state, the largest olive oil extraction and olive fruit canning plant in the region was put into operation. President Ilham Aliyev familiarised himself with the production process at the oil extraction sites, the olive processing workshops and the work of laboratories, examined samples of finished products and took part in the launch ceremony of the plant.

The initiative's creator – the Azerbaijani company Absheron Zeytun Baglari LLC implemented the project in cooperation with specialists from Spain, Israel, Italy, Portugal and Türkiye. The capacity of the new enterprise allows it to produce about 4,000 tons of Extra Virgin cold-pressed olive oil annually, about half of the products are intended for the domestic market, and the rest will be exported under the "Made in Azerbaijan" brand. Also, the company has established the processing of about a thousand tons of table olives and olives, and in the future, these volumes will be doubled.

To form the raw material base of the enterprise, 787 hectares of rocky lands were cleaned at the initial stage in the area of the village of Goshagishlag, administratively belonging to the village of Zira. Olive groves with various fruit-bearing varieties - Arbequina, Arbosana, Imperial, Gemlik, Manzanillo, Blanqueta, and Koroneiki, mainly imported from the countries of the Mediterranean region, were laid out on 697 hectares of cleared and reclaimed area. According to the consultant of the enterprise Murat Kucukcakir the main goal of the LLC is to bring the harvest to 10 tons per hectare, but at the first stage, the harvest is expected to be within 2.5-3 tons per hectare, later, as the trees grow, the harvest will grow. In upcoming years, it is planned to continue planting new olive groves on an area of 1,162 hectares in the nearby settlement of Gurgan.

"We have plans to expand production. In particular, we plan to make maximum use of unused land for olive production, especially here on the Absheron Peninsula and in some other areas of Azerbaijan," the head of state said during the enterprise's inauguration.