NUTS FOR EUROPE

The acceleration of reforms aimed at developing the non-oil sector gave a kick to the traditional branches of the agrarian sector in Azerbaijan. Fortunately, there are many such reforms, which can help increase the exports of agricultural products to ensure income flow to the state budget, if skillful approach is implemented. As recently mentioned by President Ilham Aliyev, the hazelnut growing and export of persimmons are major income generators in agricultural sector.

According to the statistics, the local farmers have a really growing interest in hazelnut production, although sometimes they have to solve the problems with export. 

The statistical data of 2016 on hazelnut growing shows quite a positive trend - last year, hazelnut orchards covered an area of ​​13 thousand hectares, whereas their total coverage was 30 thousand hectares previously. At the conference on the implementation of the State Program on socio-economic development of regions in 2014-2018, President Ilham Aliyev mentioned that up to 80 thousand hectares of land will be covered with hazelnut gardens in the coming years.

In general, more than 25,000 farming households in Azerbaijan uniting about 100,000 people are employed in hazelnut cultivation and production. According to experts, it is important to improve the efficiency in this area and to organize a value chain. The Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Hazelnuts was created in 2016 thanks to the support of the Ministry of Economy. According to estimates of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Azerbaijan is ranked the 4^th in the world for the production of hazelnuts. The country produces about 35,000 of hazelnuts and exports 90% of the produced volume abroad. The Azerbaijan cultivar Ata-baba is considered one of the high-quality and expensive varieties of hazelnuts in the world. According to the President of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Hazelnuts, Ismayil Orujov, Azerbaijan exported Ata-baba to 25 countries of the world ($105 million) only last year, which is nearly a quarter of the total national exports of agricultural products. Moreover, unlike in previous years, exports have been organized directly and this played a major role in promoting Azerbaijani brands abroad.

Although Russia is the main market for Azerbaijan, it is still profitable to export hazelnuts in Europe, where its wholesale market value reaches $8-10 per kilogram.

At the end of 2013, a hazelnut plant was commissioned in Zagatala with handling capacity of three housand tonnes of hazelnuts per year. The businessmen intended to export the product to Kazakhstan, and they managed to do so. By the volume of exports to Russia in 2014, Azerbaijan was ahead of 13 countries, including Turkey (ranked first and ahead of Turkey by 60%). The trade dynamics showed that in 2015, Azerbaijan and Turkey were almost on a par in the Russian market (Azerbaijan – 3.1 thousand tons, Turkey - 2.4 thousand tons). In both countries, the volume of supply decreased by 50 and 28%, respectively. But... the supplied export volume of Georgia increased by 160%.

The secret of our neighbors lies in productivity. If Azerbaijan implements extensive methods for the production of hazelnuts, the neighboring Georgian farmers prefer the intensive methods. For example, the total area of ​​ hazelnuts plantations in the United States occupies 12.2 thousand hectares, while in Azerbaijan the coverage is 30.5 thousand hectares the American production is much higher. During the agrarian reforms implemented until 2009, Azerbaijan has observed the growth of productivity. According to statistics, in 2007, 25.6 thousand hectares were employed under the hazelnuts. After two years, the coverage was 28.6 thousand hectares, and in subsequent years already 30.5 thousand ha. But yields began to fall due to old methods of cultivation. In 2009, it was 13.6 and in 2014 - 11.8 hundred kilograms per hectare.

Primary production region for hazelnuts is Sheki-Zagatala economic region, where yields began to fall in 2005. The relatively high yield level was maintained due to involvement in the production of hazelnut in new regions. Now hazelnuts are produced in Baku, Absheron, Ganja-Gazakh, Upper Karabakh, Lankaran regions. Due to the involvement of new land, yields were high (Baku – 3 ha = 25 c / ha, Upper Karabakh - 45 c / ha, in Lankaran - 92 c / ha). But in general, the yield in the main production areas falls, due to which Azerbaijan is losing its position in the global market.

Therefore, only extreme innovation measures can help the sector survive.

As for the last harvest season - the autumn of 2016, Zagatala started first traditionally. Here, the owners of land plots expanded walnut groves and hazelnut plantations to 9575 hectares, 254 of them - young plantings.

Despite the fact that the autumn weather was not favorable to achieving high yields, farmers are happy with fruiting trees. "This year we have grown a good harvest of hazelnuts. There are buyers from foreign countries and districts of the republic, processing enterprises", says Jumali Javadov.

Local farmers in Bahmanli village, inspired by the prospects of development of plantations, have decided to expand them even a few hectares. Entrepreneur Shamil Khasmamedov believes that the peasants of his village are interested in providing land plots for hazelnut plantations, which will lead to an increase in production volumes and income of rural enterprises. According to him, they have 620 ha of hazelnut areas, of which 22 hectares are covered with young plantings.

Currently, in Zagatala region on an area of ​​100 hectares of villagers plowing fields under the new plantations.

In Sheki, hazelnut collection is one of the main occupations of the villagers. Agronomist Hashim Mammadov said that the fruits of hazelnut are harvested manually. Then dried at high temperature, removed of nuclei and sorted for sale.

"This year, productivity in Sheki was low but the farmers are not worried, as the prices are high," says the farmer Ahmed Mammadov. The product is distinguished by the variety and color - dark, light. The crude hazelnut farmers sell for ₼5 per kg, peeled - ₼7-8 per kg. Such prices suit manufacturers of these products.

The above analysis allows us to say that the owners of these plantations supported the expansion, based on the strong demand for hazelnuts and high prices. As mentioned, Azerbaijan receives solid income from exports of hazelnuts. Perhaps these figures could be much higher if not the occupation of our regions in Karabakh.

For example, several species of trees and shrubs that grow in the forests of Kalbajar region are included in the Red Book of Azerbaijan. One of these sorts (ayi-findighi) is growing at an altitude of 1500-2100 meters above sea level. Some of these trees reach a height of 25 meters and the diameter of the trunk 48-120 cm. Occupants, cutting down the trees, taking them to Armenia as a valuable raw material for the production of furniture.

But back to today's situation, in the hazelnut orchards Azerbaijan, we note that, by the assurance of the Ministry of Agriculture of the country in the foreseeable future it is planned to lay new plantations of this culture and to increase the area under it, that will double or even triple the production of hazelnut exports which also increases by several times .

As stated by President Ilham Aliyev, "the government has taken on a greater challenge, since the purchase of all necessary equipment, seedlings and technical actions carried out by the state. The state purchase them and sells to farmers for free. We are also expanding the geography of hazelnut growing, and currently this is implemented in 13 regions of the country." 

The Ministry of Agriculture also noted that all necessary conditions for the development of new plantations, irrigation are provided, and a variety of agro-technical measures are implemented. According to experts, the Department of Crop Production and Processing of the Ministry of Agriculture, to bring the industry to the path of intensification of production of entrepreneurs they began to use the intensive methods of gardening. All this will eventually should lead to a long-awaited high-impact hazelnut plantations, and hence to the replenishment of the budget at the expense of non-oil sectors of the economy.