Farhad Garashov says waiting for proposals on restoration of pomegranate gardens in Karabakh

Pomegranate occupies a considerable place in Azerbaijan's non-oil exports, chairman of the Pomegranate Producers and Exporters Association Farhad Garashov told Report, commenting on the expectations regarding pomegranate production and export targets.

"The season of pomegranates starts in September," he said, adding that this year will see an increase in production compared to last year.

"This is because the Mil-Mugan, Aran regions were hit by drought last year, and the crops in gardens shrank 50%. Last year, Azerbaijan's pomegranate production made a total of 182,000 tons. This year, we expect a 10-15% increase in production compared to 2020," he said.

Garashov touched upon the expectations related to the country's pomegranate exports.

"Due to the pandemic, the pomegranate is currently in demand in Russian and Ukrainian markets. Exporters visit the pomegranate gardens and show interest in the farmers' products. The customer base is larger this year. Last year we exported 19,000 tons of pomegranate worth $25 million. During the pandemic, we saw increased demand for pomegranate, both as fruit and as juices. As Turkish pomegranates ripe faster than Azerbaijan's, they enter the export markets earlier. And the prices are regulated by the market," he said.

Garashov also spoke about the problems faced by the Azerbaijani exporters at the Russian border checkpoint.

"When registering pomegranates on the Russian border checkpoint, they got a fee from us depending on the invoice. In this connection, we have already sent a letter to the Azerbaijani government, the Ministry of Economy, the Russia-Azerbaijan Business Council," he said.

Speaking about cultivating pomegranates in Karabakh, Garashov said that the territories are cleared of mines at the moment.

"As President Ilham Aliyev already said, the landmine maps handed over by Armenia are only 25% true. Therefore, it is currently prohibited to visit the gardens existing there. The entry of citizens to the liberated areas is possible only upon special permission. We want to restore the pomegranate gardens in the liberated territories. We have plans in this connection, but we haven't received any proposal in this regard," he said.

Notably, Azerbaijan is considered the only country where all varieties of pomegranate grow. The varieties Gulovsha, Vesel, Shandi, Shirin, and Bala Mursal, are mainly cultivated in local gardens.