Page 47 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.75, # 2, 2018, pp. 47-63

Current State and Future Perspectives of Agricultural Exports of
Azerbaijan: Bilateral and Multilateral Aspects

Emin Teymurov

Dr. DBA candidate, Geneva Business School, e-mail: [email protected]

Received 06 August 2018; accepted 10 December 2018; published online 28 December 2018

ABSTRACT

As the participant of the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative, being one of the leading
producers of agricultural goods in the South Caucasus and holder of more than 70% share
in the GDP of the very region, Azerbaijan continues its efforts in economic diversification,
non-oil sector development, further promotion of equal progress of the country’s regions,
increasing national economic competitiveness and improving export structure. In this
context, agricultural sector plays an exceptional role and has promising perspectives in
breaking into strategic markets such as Germany. Agriculture remains an important sector
in Azerbaijan’s non-oil economy as it has a great potential and absorbs highest share of
employment, contributes to the livelihood and welfare of the whole population. The
employment in agriculture stood at approximately 40% in 2017. Agriculture had almost 6%
share in total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017. The year of 2015 was proclaimed as
the Year of Agriculture in Azerbaijan to further advance the diversification of economy,
reduce poverty in rural areas and create employment opportunities for vulnerable groups.
In this regard, application and promotion of advanced and high technologies in agricultural
production sector, development of research, technical and advisory services, modernization
of the whole sector and increase of the competitiveness of agriculture sector were
determined as the key priorities and targets for the coming years. The article analyses the
current situation with regard to agricultural exports of Azerbaijan and, by exploring
international cooperation and through SWOT analyses, presents possible elements for
relevant strategies.

Keywords: sustainable agriculture, food security, agricultural policy, digitalization,
bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
JEL Classification Codes: Q18, O13, Q17, L66, J43.

1. INTRODUCTION

Azerbaijan has been implementing its national development strategy, entitled “Azerbaijan
2020: vision into the future”, strategic roadmap for the development of agriculture and

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