BALANCE OF SECTORS

Over the past fifteen years, Azerbaijani economy has demonstrated high growth rates. Today this process continues with the implementation of new reforms.

Meanwhile, the national GDP has increased by 3.2 times, the non-oil sector - by 2.8, industrial production - by 2.6, agriculture - by 1.7, and non-oil exports - by 4.1 times. Azerbaijan’s currency reserves rose from $1.8 to $46 billion, while the volume of investments in 2003-2018 exceeded $250 billion.

In recent years, economic policy has been increasingly focused on the diversification of state revenues and the development of the non-oil sector.

Despite a 0.8% growth of the national economy during the first nine months of 2018, the volume of non-oil industry grew by an impressive 10.8%, and agriculture - by 4.3%. The same trend follows the investments policy of the country - $5.6 billion of the total $9 billion is directed specifically to the non-oil sector.

As President Ilham Aliyev noted in his speech at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socio-economic development for the first nine months of 2018 and the upcoming tasks, recent decisions have contributed to significant revival of the non-oil sector. “After the introduction of the investment promotion system, more than 300 investment documents were issued. As a result of these projects, 20 thousand jobs were created. The total investment volume of implemented and planned projects after the introduction of the investment promotion mechanism is ₼2.7 billion,” president said.

According to Aliyev, serious agricultural reforms are being implemented. As a result, they will ensure long-term, sustainable development of agriculture. “We can significantly increase production by deliberately and systematically taking into account the fertility of lands, ensuring the effectiveness of the sown areas and, first of all, increasing the yield, using the available land fund. At the same time, it is necessary to envisage an extensive development of agriculture,” Aliyev underlined and recalled that, according to existing plans, 45 agroparks will be created on an area of ​​192 thousand hectares. Four of them are already open, and by the end of this year, the number of existing agroparks will reach 13.

The reforms ultimately have a positive effect on the volume of foreign trade turnover, which for three quarters grew by 37%. At the same time, non-oil exports increased by about 14%.

As a result of innovations in the customs sphere, the state budget received an additional ₼800 million as income. “This demonstrates that the national economy is developing successfully, imports are growing, and the increase in imports is associated with the development of industrial sector. If we consider that exports are significantly ahead of imports, then we must admit that the growth of imports is a positive fact. The surplus of our foreign trade amounted to $6.5 billion over nine months,” President Aliyev said.

Remarkably, despite the completion of the active phase of investment projects implemented in the oil and gas sector, due to the increase in revenues from other sectors of the non-oil sector, as well as revenues from the oil sector in the first 9 months of 2018, taxes were raised by 1.6%. Thus, as Minister of Taxes Mikayil Jabbarov noted, against the background of positive trends observed in the country's economy, the forecast was fulfilled by 100.2%. At the same time, 65.8% of taxes came from the non-oil sector.

“The successful implementation of the concept of socio-economic development in the regions included the opening of new jobs and the expansion of taxation market. During the reported period, tax revenues from the regions reached ₼508 million compared to the respective period last year (increased by 12%). An analysis of the types of payments shows that there was an increase in all types of taxes received from the non-oil sector,” Minister Jabbarov said.

President Ilham Aliyev believes that the positive growth trend in the non-oil sector will be further strengthened after the commissioning of large enterprises. For example, the SOCAR Polymer propylene plant has already been launched, and by the end of 2018, it is planned to open the second project of this company, a high-density polyethylene plant. The volume of investments in these plants exceeds $800 million.

In the near future, it is also planned to launch the Azerbaijani Star Oil Refinery operating in Turkey. “We have made large investments in this plant - more than $6 billion. Every year we will receive hundreds of millions of dollars of income from this plant. In other words, investments made nationwide and abroad will bring us greater benefits in the future and will ensure the sustainable development of our country, ” president concluded.

Simply put, the purposeful development of the non-oil sector will continue to remain the main goal of economic reforms not only until the end of this year, but also in the long term, until the desired balance of sectors in the Azerbaijani economy is achieved.