Kazakhstan’s Agriculture Minister Aydarbek Saparov said that this year his country will export 160,000 tons of onions within the framework of the agreement signed with Azerbaijan and Georgia. Onion is one of the most important elements in our food basket. Its production is widespread in our country. Most of the onion cultivation areas in the country are located in Karabakh, Gazakh-Tovuz, Mil-Mugan and Lankaran-Astara economic regions. Even during the season, we are witnessing news that tons of products are left in the fields, have no buyer or are sold at a lower price than their value. I wonder why products are imported from abroad to a country where onions are plentiful? Our own product can not meet our domestic demand?
Our guarantee is over 100 percent
According to the information provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, there is no problem in the production of the product: “Azerbaijan imports onions from foreign countries. But this number is very small. For example, 2380 tons of products were imported last year. But 22 thousand tons were also exported. How do we export if we can’t be self-sufficient? The state does not export. This process is carried out by entrepreneurs. Azerbaijani entrepreneurs did not import onions from Kazakhstan last year. Azerbaijan’s onion supply is over 100 percent. Because Azerbaijan itself is engaged in the production of this product. The 108 percent production rate is proof of that.”
Our production increased by 13 percent, but…
According to Economist Parviz Heydarov, our local onion spoils, but we bring it from abroad: “Although we have the power to meet our own needs, exports are also carried out. For example, more than 310,000 tons of onions were harvested last year. This figure is 13 percent more than in 2022. Our farmers claim that the crop remains in their hands. On the one hand, we import onions from Kazakhstan. But local producers cannot sell their products. They say that the product was not kept in proper conditions in the warehouses and was damaged, and it is not suitable for sale in terms of quality. The authorities also say that you did not store the product properly, you did not place it in the refrigerator in the appropriate warehouses.
Displaces local products
According to the economist, if we don’t want to lose this area, we should develop it: “If special attention was paid to this area, appropriate conditions would be created for onion suppliers to store their products. It is very difficult for a peasant to deal with both sowing and harvesting and maintaining the harvest. Onion is brought from other countries because the local product is spoiled. The quality of products from Kazakhstan is low, and the price is also cheap. A foreign product displaces domestic goods from the market. If this continues, the villagers will no longer want to do this work.”
A climate that hurts farmers
Entrepreneur Eldar Huseynov clarified the farmers’ experience: “Azerbaijan has the largest number of onion fields in the Caucasus. We exported onions to Qatar, Iran and other countries. But during the last four years, we have difficulty in exporting. Because we are experiencing problems with onion supply. There are several reasons for this. Most farmers prefer foreign seeds. This year, it rained for five days in a row on the eve of onion harvesting in autumn. Those who gathered their crops until the rains were able to keep it. But the crops of the farmers who could not deliver and collect were left under the ground and were damaged. Onion is a product that fills up when water hits the throat. At this time, it starts to decay automatically. Some people bought these soaked varieties and collected them to sell at a high price in winter or to export. But these products also spoiled. Because each onion has a storage period and conditions. “Most of the entrepreneurs planted varieties that perish for a short period of time and varieties that have a lifespan of 3-4 months.”
Positive for the population, negative for the entrepreneur
According to E. Huseynov, this year, the shortage caused by the abundance and cheapness of onions in Kazakhstan will be restored in this way: “Those farmers who planted varieties with a shelf life of 7-8 months, there were no problems for those farmers, they were able to sell the product. But there were not many of them. Therefore, there was a shortage of onions in our country. For this reason, we had to bring it from foreign countries. The most suitable was Kazakhstan. Because they have plenty of onions this year. It is also cheap because there are many of them. For this reason, we will bring onions from Kazakhstan. But this will have a negative impact on entrepreneurs. Awareness work should be done with the farmers. Proper seed planting should be taught and storage conditions should be established. Imports have a positive aspect for the population, which will reduce prices in the domestic market. (“Kaspi” newspaper)
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