Hazelnut production in Azerbaijan to grow by 55.6%

Hazelnut growing is one of the most profitable industries in the export of Azerbaijan’s agricultural products. However, there are a number of problems in the production and export of hazelnuts.

Ismayil Orujov, chairman of the Azerbaijan Hazelnut Producers and Exporters Association’ (AHPEA), told Report about the expected innovations in this area and the solution to the current problems.

Hazelnut production is expected to grow by 55.6 percent in Azerbaijan compared to the 2020 season.

He noted that last year Azerbaijan saw a low yield due to cold weather in April 2020: “But this year, in winter and spring, the weather conditions were normal, which had a positive effect on productivity. Production of 70,000 tons is expected in the current season. In 2020, some 45,000 tons of hazelnuts were produced.”

Difficulties in the local market

“There are more than 60,000 family farms on the territory of Azerbaijan. Difficulties lie in the low level of education of farmers, misunderstanding between farmers and producers during the application of existing laws. At the same time, a large number of speculators on the territory of the country influences the system of sale prices of hazelnuts. High prices for Azerbaijani products result in the loss of markets, in contrast to our competitor exporters from Georgia and Turkey. The selling price of 1 kg of shelled hazelnuts in Azerbaijan is about $6.6, while in Turkey, it is about $5.80,” he said.

Azerbaijan faces a number of problems during the export of hazelnuts

More than one million tons of hazelnuts (in shell) are produced annually in the world: “70-75 percent of hazelnuts are produced by Turkey, 10-15 percent by Italy, 5 percent by Azerbaijan and 3-4 percent by Georgia. The fact that our competitors offer hazelnuts in the world markets at a lower price causes us immense difficulties in exports. The countries that are our main export markets are Russia, Italy, Germany. Unlike Azerbaijan, the customs tax isn’t levied on the export of Georgian hazelnuts to Europe. The imposition of a tax on our products is one of the biggest problems when exporting to Europe.”

Orujov touched upon the export of Azerbaijani hazelnuts to Arab countries: “Europe accounts for 80 percent of the world trade in hazelnuts, this product is purchased by enterprises in Europe and is used mainly in the production of chocolate. Therefore, the main priority market in our export is Europe. Unfortunately, sales to Arab countries are poor due to lack of demand for hazelnuts. Exports aren’t expected to grow in this direction.”

Peeled hazelnuts are among the top four in the list of the main non-oil products of Azerbaijan exported in 2020. In total, products worth $116 million were exported. The value of Azerbaijan’s exports in the first quarter of this year amounted to $4.1 billion, and non-oil exports to $501.5 million. In the first quarter of 2021, hazelnut exports amounted to $29 million.