Azer News
Prime Minister Ali Asadov has signed a decree on urgent actions to strengthen Azerbaijan’s anti-inflationary measures. The order’s main goals are to reduce the impact of global food prices on the domestic consumer market, to keep people’s real incomes and purchasing power stable, and to stimulate domestic production.
Control to prevent price manipulations
The Economy Ministry, the State Customs Committee, the Agriculture Ministry, and other relevant Azerbaijani bodies will report to the Cabinet of Ministers once a month on the country’s efforts to maintain a healthy competitive environment, including control measures to prevent monopolization, market division, application of agreed prices, and price manipulation. The Economy Ministry, in collaboration with the State Customs Committee, was instructed to take the necessary steps to ensure the domestic market’s self-sufficiency in food products as part of the minimum consumer basket.
Stabilization of price growth rates
The Economy Ministry was also directed to use trade allowances to stabilize the growth rate of basic food prices in accordance with market economy rules. According to the decree, proposals to strengthen the social protection of vulnerable groups of people must be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers within 15 days.
Proposals on strategic product reserves
Furthermore, proposals for strategic product reserves will be prepared in the country. In this regard, the State Reserves Agency, in collaboration with the Agriculture and Economy Ministries, must submit proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers on strategic product reserves that take into account the global food market situation.
Agricultural fairs organization
Instructions have been issued for the organization of agricultural fairs, as well as the optimization of expenses associated with Azerbaijan’s transport-logistic and trade networks. Relevant governmental structures were tasked with developing measures for more efficient wholesale and retail sales of agricultural products at fairs, as well as the development of private storage and sale bases and logistics centers. Simultaneously, they were directed to prepare and submit to the Cabinet of Ministers within 15 days proposals on the implementation of potential mechanisms to optimize the transport and logistics costs of local and imported agricultural and food products.
Government securities
Furthermore, the Finance Ministry was instructed to take the necessary measures to issue short-term, medium-term and long-term government securities in accordance with the level of inflation.
Local producers
The decree provides for measures to improve the domestic market’s supply of food products within the minimum consumer basket, as well as to encourage local food producers. In Azerbaijan, inflation was 6.7 percent by the end of 2021, with food inflation at 8.1 percent and non-food inflation at 5.1 percent.
