AZE.US
Azerbaijan’s meat market has entered a noticeably weaker period, with demand for beef and lamb falling after the holiday season despite some easing in prices.
Butchers say sales have dropped sharply. Where several animals could once be sold in a single day, volumes have now fallen to a minimum.
According to sellers, even beef priced at around 17-18 manats per kilogram is no longer an everyday purchase for many families.
That, they say, is one of the main reasons demand has weakened.
The slowdown is not being explained only by the usual post-holiday lull. Analysts say broader economic and structural problems are also weighing on the market.
On one side, population growth naturally increases demand for meat. On the other, Azerbaijan is not seeing a matching rise in livestock production. Experts say the trend has been moving in the opposite direction, with output under pressure instead of expanding.
One of the main reasons cited is the reduction of pasture land, which affects livestock farming and, in turn, limits supply and supports high prices.
The result is a market under strain from both sides. Sellers complain about a shortage of buyers, while buyers continue to complain about prices that remain too high for regular consumption.
That has left the meat market in a sluggish state, with weaker turnover and little sign that the problem can be explained by seasonality alone.
In effect, the drop in demand for beef and lamb appears to reflect a wider combination of price pressure, constrained production and longer-term agricultural challenges.