Azerbaijan plans to build peanut processing plant with capacity of 100,000 tons per year

Swiss iCsquared GmbH plans to build a peanut processing plant in Azerbaijan with a capacity of 100,000 tons per year, Report informs referring to the company materials in foreign media.

The company implemented a pilot project in the Shamkir district for growing peanut plantations in Azerbaijan.

"We are still at the initial stage, and in the future, the company will create peanut plantations on an area of 2,500-3,000 hectares, and under the 'Wasserstein Lopafa' local farmers' partnership program, we plan to create plantations on another 20,000 hectares. We are also thinking about planting potatoes in Azerbaijan on an area of 1,000-1,200 hectares, 50 hectares of asparagus, 50 hectares of artichoke plantations, and 30 hectares of nut orchards. We plan to transform Azerbaijan from a peanut importer to an exporter, and in the future, a peanut processing plant with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons will be built for export to CIS countries, Middle East, and EU markets," the company notes.

Peanut, asparagus, artichoke plantations, walnut orchards, and paulownia will be planted on the Aghstafa International Agrocluster platform in the Aghstafa region during the 2024-2025 seasons, and an agreement has been reached to grow peanut plantations on 1,000 hectares in Aghstafa in the future. The peanut processing plant will be built with Swiss-German technologies by Swiss company Bühler Group, meeting European standards, and will be based in the industrial park in the Jabrayil district.

Additionally, one of the small processing enterprises will be created in Aghstafa to supply peanuts to Azerbaijan's northwestern regions and Georgian markets. In the future, the company will also enter the Uzbekistan market through Azerbaijan, where Swiss-German peanut processing technologies meeting European standards will be used.

Future plans include organizing packaging in the Free Zone at the Port of Rotterdam, roasting, salting, and packaging Azerbaijani peanuts in tin cans for leading European retail chains COOP, Migros, EDEKA, Essenlunga, and other networks, as well as the HORECA segment. The branch of iCsquared GmbH has been operating in Azerbaijan since 2019.