Baku, September 27, 2025
Three out of every four food products on Azerbaijani tables now come from abroad. With 75% of the domestic food market dependent on imports, Azerbaijan has slipped into one of the most vulnerable positions in the region when it comes to food security.
Economists warn this dependence is not just an embarrassment – it is a ticking time bomb.
“Every basic product in our shopping basket comes from abroad: meat, oil, sugar, grain,” said economist Fuad Ibragimov.
“We misuse our farmland, we mismanage what we grow, and when farmers try to work, they hit walls – no water, no electricity, no coordination. Subsidies exist on paper, but without systemic solutions we will keep living off imports for decades.”
The contrast with history is stark. Azerbaijan once exported fruits, vegetables, and wine across the USSR. Today, even wheat and rice – the most fundamental staples – arrive on ships and trucks from foreign suppliers. Ibragimov warns that focusing resources on one crop, such as wheat, could destabilize other sectors. “We need balanced strategy and real coordination between the Economy and Agriculture ministries. Right now, we have neither,” he said.
MP Vugar Bayramov, speaking to KhazarTV, echoed the alarm, calling dependence on imported staples “a direct threat to national security.” He added that this exposure leaves Azerbaijan hostage to global markets.
“If prices spike or supplies collapse abroad, what happens here? Can we feed our own people?” Bayramov asked.
Officials insist reforms are underway, but critics point out the reality: Azerbaijan is more dependent on imports today than ever before. Inflation is driven by foreign markets, while domestic fields lie underused.
For a nation with fertile land and a proud agricultural history, Azerbaijan’s food crisis is self-inflicted – and every year of inaction makes the country weaker.
