July 26, 2011

Uzbekistan to give Azerbaijan grain supplies

Uzbekistan is prepared to offer Azerbaijan steady grain supplies, according to the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade.

Uzbek grain cultivators harvested 6.8 million tonnes of grain, together with 6.7 million tonnes from irrigated land, this year. The average crop yield reaches 53-64 quintals per hectare whereas in some advanced farms, it surpassed 70 quintals per hectare. According to the Uzbek Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, the area assigned to cereal crops was the same as last year at 1.47 million hectares.

Currently, only 37% of the yearly harvest is given to meet the contractual demands of the state and more than 55% of the crop stays in farms and the population. Uzbekistan harvested 7.3 million tonnes of grain last year and more than 400,000 tonnes of wheat were exported.

The present requirement of the population and Azerbaijani economy in crops are approximately 3-3.2 million tonnes. Azerbaijan expects to produce around 2.5 million tonnes of grain this year or 500,000 tonnes more than the previous year. The remaining will be imported from other countries.