12:40 - 22.08.2023

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August 22, Fineko/abc.az. In recent days, the cost of 1 kilogram of beef with bones in Azerbaijan has reached AZN 15-16, against AZN 11-12 in the beginning of the year.

Various reasons point to the growth, including a sharp decline in meat imports from Russia and Ukraine. How much can beef prices rise in Azerbaijan?

ABC.AZ reports that according to Eyyub Huseynov, Chairman of the Free Consumers Union, the rise in meat prices is based not only on the Russian-Ukrainian war, but also on a large number of factors contributing to the rise in prices.

"The first reason is that the Ministry of Agriculture is pursuing a policy that stimulates the cultivation of cotton in the country. Eventually important pastures for livestock are turned into cotton plantations. That is, people refuse to keep livestock and switch to cotton growing. And this reduces the number of animals, which naturally leads to higher prices. The second reason is that over the past three years, animal feed has risen in price by about 80%, which has affected the price of meat.

The third reason is that animals raised on private farms are almost impossible to sell on the market. Traders dominate the market. They have close ties to the meat business and prevent pet owners from directly selling products. Moreover, traders act practically illegally, without paying taxes, setting a price for meat that is beneficial for themselves, thereby stimulating price increases. And the fourth reason is that the livestock sector is increasingly concentrated in the hands of mega-farms. Their access to fodder and water resources is at a high level, they appropriated these resources in such a way that they can easily force out individual farms, go for cartel deals and dictate prices in the market," Huseynov noted.