AZE.US
Azerbaijan’s rising wheat imports from Russia have brought the issue of food security and domestic grain production back into public debate.
In the first three months of this year, Azerbaijan imported 371,802 tons of wheat worth $82.77 million, according to the State Statistics Committee. That marked a significant increase from the same period last year, both in volume and value.
AZE.US reports, citing Demokrat.az, that economist Khalid Karimli said Azerbaijan is unlikely to fully eliminate its dependence on imported wheat.
He said subsidies, new technologies and structural changes in the agricultural sector have not fundamentally changed the situation in recent years. Domestic wheat production covers about 55% of the country’s total demand, while food-grade wheat meets only about 25% of demand.
Karimli said the problem is not only the amount of land under cultivation. Azerbaijan also faces weak irrigation systems, problems in agricultural management, climate limits, soil constraints and water shortages.
According to the economist, Azerbaijan’s climate is not fully suitable for producing high-quality food-grade wheat. The rapid shift from winter to summer affects the grain maturation process and makes it harder for locally produced wheat to meet higher quality standards.
That makes it difficult for Azerbaijan to produce wheat of the same quality as Ukraine, Russia or Central Asian countries, where soil, water supply and climate conditions are more favorable for grain production.
Karimli said the state should not spend hundreds of millions of manats every year trying to “fight nature” through subsidies.
He said a more practical approach would be to diversify import sources, build strategic grain storage facilities and increase wheat reserves. In other words, food security should rely not only on the idea of full self-sufficiency, but also on stable supply mechanisms and sufficient reserves.
There are still ways to improve domestic production, he said. Irrigation systems should be modernized first, as better water management could increase productivity and reduce water losses.
Agricultural management also needs to be updated. If real steps are taken in that direction, Azerbaijan could achieve some progress in wheat production.
But even in that case, Karimli said, the country will remain dependent on wheat imports to some degree.
The reason is structural. Azerbaijan’s land resources and climate cannot be compared with the black-soil regions of Ukraine and Russia. Its water supply is also more limited.
For that reason, buying part of the country’s wheat from abroad will remain a more rational, economically efficient and higher-quality option, according to the economist.
AZE.US