5 Azerbaijan food packaging points you should know
Published on 23/02/2017
In Central Asia, Azerbaijan is quietly revolutionising its food industry. The nation’s government is keen to diversify its economic activities, with agriculture and
food processing firmly in its developmental crosshairs. The sector is already worth a huge $6.2 billion. But there is always room for expansion – particularly in Azerbaijan’s food packaging sector.
With Azerbaijan’s government aiming to improve export levels, and position Azerbaijan as a regional food production powerhouse, new opportunities for foreign companies are emerging.
Here are five major talking points related to Azerbaijan’s food packaging sector, to give you a snapshot of its development, major trends and the potential for foreign firms.
1. Diversified – Azerbaijan’s food packaging sector is diverse, featuring canning facilities, plastics, wooden crates, plus bottling plants for juices, waters and alcoholic beverages.
2. Strong output levels but room for improvement – Around 24 million combined wooden crates and corrugated cardboard shippers are produced each year in Azerbaijan. This is roughly 60% of Azerbaijan’s potential packaging production output. Total capacity is not being met, as modern technology is needed to fill the gap.
3. The sector is already open to international companies/standards - Azerbaijan’s packaging industry is already open to international expertise, knowledge and equipment For example, Coca-Cola has run a bottling plant in Baku since 1994. Additionally, in 2015, European packaging standards workshops were run nationwide. The demand is there. It is up to you and your business to fulfil it.
4. Food processing is a big government focus - Attempting to steer the country away from an over-reliance on energy revenues, Azerbaijan’s government has shifted the spotlight onto food processing. This means more investment, higher production levels and more opportunities for international companies to provide the cutting edge technology desired by Azeri producers.
5. More agricultural centres are being built – Up to 20 new agricultural parks and dairy plants are planned for construction from 2016 onwards to boost Azerbaijan’s food exports. New factories will need outfitting with world-class technologies to fulfil Azerbaijan’s big-league aspirations. Can your company supply modern machinery to Azeri producers?
With local manufacturers' products lagging behind global standards, food processing and packaging machinery suppliers can score some big wins in Azerbaijan. The country’s food sector is changing rapidly, but needs foreign expertise, knowhow and, crucially, machinery to take it to the world stage.