According to official statistics, a 5.7 percent price increase was recorded in the consumer market in the first quarter of this year. Higher inflation was observed in food products, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco products: 6.8 percent. In March, consumer prices for food products, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco products increased by 6.5 percent compared to the same month of the previous year.
Economist deputy Vugar Bayramov said in an interview with Medianews.az that when looking at the structure of food price increases last month, it is evident that more inflation was recorded in fruits and vegetables: “Specifically, price increases of 3.6 percent in fruits and 3.2 percent in vegetables were observed. Overall, in March, long-grain rice, bread, chicken meat, fresh fish, milk, cheese, table margarine, sunflower and corn oils, lemon, orange, tangerine, banana, apple, pear, kiwi, walnut, hazelnut, cucumber, tomato, sweet pepper, pumpkin, carrot, and potato prices increased.”
The higher price increases in fruits and vegetables are related to the large share of imports for certain products. The Iran war further activated import inflation in March. Against the background of price increases observed in the global market, expanding the production of local agricultural products is becoming even more of a priority. Recent global and regional geopolitical tensions once again confirm that the main way to prevent price increases is local production. In this way, the effects of import inflation can be minimized and price stability maintained in the consumer market.”
Naile Gasimova,
Medianews.az