Food industry

In the enterprises of food industry, various agricultural products are processed and consumed as foodstuff. The different aspect of food industry enterprises is their location. This type of production objects operate both in the cities and rural places.

As the types of agricultural products are various, the composition of the food industry varies as well flour-grinding-cereals, sugar, butter, starch, canned fruit-vegetables, tea industry enterprises realize the procession of planting products. Meat, milk, butter and cheese industries are based on animal husbandry products. Bread-baking, macaroni, confectionary, and food –concentrate fields deal with the manufacturing final products. The processing of salt and fish products is included to the food industry as well.

As the transportation of raw materials required for processing sugar, vegetable oil, canned fruit and vegetables, butter and cheese, the mentioned fields are developed mainly in the raw material regions.

Bread-baking, macaroni and dairy industry enterprises are located in the large cities and densely populated consumption regions. It is more effective to construct flour-grinding-cereals and meat industry enterprises both in the raw material and consumption regions. 

The initial processing of the majority food industry products (grape, tobacco, and tea) is conducted in the raw material regions. However, they become final products in the consumption regions. The processing plants of fish products located in the coast regions.

Due to the amount of manufactured products, and the number of employed people, food industry is in the 1st place among the industrial fields in Azerbaijan. This is one of the specialized fields of the economy, Wine, canning, tobacco, and Republic’s mineral waters are the main products of food industry. 

Wine-making is one of the widespread fields in the country. The initial processing plants are situated in the regions, where grapes are grown. The final product – wine or cognac plants operate in Baku (№1 and 2), Gandja, Goychay, Shemkir, Khanlar, Shamakhi and Nakhchivan. Wine plants of Azerbaijan produce more than 60 brands of wine, including 17 sorts of sore wine (“Bayan”, “Alsharab”, “Sadilli”, “Medrese”,”Novruzlu”, “Shamkhor”, “Qarakend”), 20 sorts of dark dessert wine of portvain type (“Agstafa”, “Alabashli”, “Agdam”, “Qizil Sherbet”, “Qara yeri”, “Qara Chanag”, “Mil”, “Goytepe”, “Garabakh”, “Shahbuz”, “Azerbaijan”, “Shamakhi”, “Kurdemir”) and cognacs (“Goy-gol” – 3,4,5 star, “Baku”, “Yubileyni”).

In accordance with the reports of 2009, in the first 9 months, 486,300 deciliters vodka, 57.000 deciliters cognac, 605.000 deciliters wine, 15.300 deciliters champagne, 3.166.900 deciliters beer were produced. Currently, there are 44 alcoholic beverage and 35 beer producing enterprises in the country.

The coming industry enterprises process fruit-vegetable, as well as fruit and fish products in Khachmaz region, there are many fruit-vegetable canning enterprises, which built close to the raw material bases. A canning enterprise in Quba-Khachmaz, and canning plant in Quba, Qusar, and Khudat cities function this field. Ordubad in Nakhchivan economic region, Sheki, Gebele, Balaken, Qakh, Nic in Sheki-Zakatala economic region, Ucar, Goychay, Sabirabad in Aran economic region, and Lenkeran, Masalli in Lenkeran-Astara economic region are the main canning industry centers.

Banka fish plant in Aran economic region, Mingechevir, Hadjiqabul, Xilli fish resources of the Caspian and Kura River. In addition, Lenkeran fish plant in Lenkeran-Astara economic region, Narimanabad fish plant, Khudat fish plant Quba-Khachmaz economic region, Hovsan fish plant in Absheron economic region, and the plant in H.Z.Tagiyev settlement are the main enterprises of fish production. 

There are fish-breeding plants in the water reserviors of the Republic, fresh-water lakes, as well as in other water bases. The majority of these plants are located in the Neftchala region in the mouth of the Kura River.

One of the important fields of food-industry – meat production is conducted in the meat enterprises in Baku, Gandja, Sheki, Mingechevir, Nakhchivan, Agdam, Imishli, Lenkeran, and Khirdalan in Baku, Sumgait, Gandja, Mingechevir, Lenkeran, Khirdalan, Shamakhi, Berde, Zerdab, Salyan, and Siyezen, there are many dairy production enterprises. A number of flour-grinding plants of the Republic importance are operating in Baku, Gandja, Nakhchivan, Kurdemir, Agdash, Yevlakh, Shabran, and Gileri.

These fields of the industry and bread-baking serve to meet the domestic demand of the country. Currently, besides the large cities, there are small enterprises in the village and settlements (small mills and bread-baking workshops) and their network is enhanced.

The package of mineral waters, which are useful for health, is also very important. The useful mineral waters include Istisu, Sirab, Badamli, Vaykhir, Daridag and so on. There are already several enterprises engaged in this field. There is “Badamli” water-filling enterprise in Shahbuz and Nakhchivan, “Sirab” enterprise in Nakhchivan. “Badamli” plant in Nakhchivan was built in 1949, “Sirab” plant in 1976. 

There are beer plants in Baku, Gandja, Khirdalan, Salyan, and Khachmaz. The affiliate company of the USA’s world famous “Coca-cola” company operates in our Republic (near Khirdalan). In the Sulutepe settlement, an enterprise on the production of “Pepsi-Cola” products was opened on October 1, 1999. 

In addition to the mentioned production enterprises of the food industry, there are factories in Lenkeran-Astara economic region on the initial procession of tea, and factories in Baku and Lenkeran on the package of tea products. 

Lenkeran tea is considered to be the best quality tea in Azerbaijan. In the competition held in Leipzig in 1981, it was awarded “Azerbaijan bouquet” prize and the golden medal. In the international contest held in Madrid in 2002, Azerbaijan tea was awarded the “XXI century European golden prize”, and in the Madrid competition “For quality and technology” in 2005, the “Natural tea” of Lenkeran was awarded another “Golden medal” of Europe. In 2010, 544.9 tons of green tea leaves were produced in the Republic. 

In the field of initial tobacco procession, there are tobacco fermentation plants in Sheki, Zakatala, Qebele, Balaken, Yevlakh, Sherur, and Masalli, and a tobacco plant in Baku. In addition, there is a nut-treatment plant and a henna packaging enterprise in Zakatala, olive treatment plant in Mashtaga settlement and saffron treatment plant in Bilgeh settlement of Absheron. 

Cotton-seed is processed in the oil-extraction plant in Shirvan and is sent to the butter-fat plant in Gandja to get glycerin soap from its products. There are confectionery factories in Baku, Sumgait, and Gandja.