So, in January-February 2020, the import of chocolate into the country amounted to 2517.39 tons, which is 16.4% or 355 tons more than in the same period last year. Growth rates were also observed in previous years. According to the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan, in 2019, chocolate imports to Azerbaijan increased by 6% compared to 2018 and amounted to 17.765 tons.

The State Statistics Committee also notes that chocolate was mostly consumed in Baku. Ganja, Sumgait, Lankaran and Nakhichevan lead the list after Baku.

It should be noted that the major share of chocolate imported to the Azerbaijani market falls on Russia. There is still a great demand for Russian chocolates in the Azerbaijani market. This is due to the fact that Russian chocolate is cheaper than chocolate produced in European countries. In January-February 2020, Russian companies accounted for 68% of chocolate imported into Azerbaijan. During this period, 1,704.79 tons or in an amount of $ 4,290.64 thousand of chocolate were imported from Russia to Azerbaijan.

 

Russia also continues to lead the export of chocolate to Azerbaijan in 2019. Last year, Azerbaijan imported 12 643.59 tons of chocolate from this country, which amounted to 71.2% of total imports.

It should be noted that demand in the Azerbaijani market was satisfied not only by imported products but also by domestic production. In January-March 2020, 2862.8 tons of chocolate was produced in Azerbaijan, which is 3.5 times more than in the corresponding period of 2019.

 

 

Along with producing chocolate, Azerbaijan also increased its exports. In January-February 2020, Azerbaijan exported 292.81 tons of chocolate. This is 28.4% more than in the corresponding period of 2019. In 2019, chocolate export from Azerbaijan amounted to 2,490.2 tons, and in 2018 - 1,677.2 tons, which clearly indicates the positive progress in the dynamics of chocolate export from the country.

Interestingly, Russia is a leader not only in the export of chocolate to Azerbaijan but also in the import of chocolate from our country. In January-February 2020, Azerbaijan exported 106 tons of chocolate to Russia, and 79.3 tons in the corresponding period of 2019.

Currently, chocolate factories Ulduz and Shirin are engaged in the production of chocolate in the Azerbaijani market.

Since the beginning of 2020, Ulduz chocolate factory has produced 2652.4 tons of chocolate, which is about 70% of the total production. The products of this chocolate factory have gained popularity in the domestic market and are export-oriented. Since the beginning of 2020, the factory has sold 1,933.9 tons of chocolate on the domestic market and exported 485.9 tons of products. The company operates at 34.3% of its production capacity. In other words, the company has a wide production potential to provide a larger market.

Ulduz chocolate factory sweets such as Khoncha, Sultan and others are loved both at home and abroad.

 

It is worth noting that the largest manufacturer with many years of experience is Ulduz chocolate factory, which is part of the Veyseloğlu group of companies.

Initially, Veyseloğlu was founded in 1994 in the field of sales and distribution. But expanding the scope and geography of its activities over the years, in 2017 the company was reorganized into a group of companies and today it combines such well-known brands as Chocolate Factory Ulduz, supermarkets Araz, Oba, Spar, Mineral Water " Sirab ”," Honcha ”confectioneries, restaurant chain" Entrée ”, AVT Construction, AVT Logistic and others.

It is noteworthy that the company not only produces and supplies its products, but is also a distributor in Azerbaijan of such global brands as Nestle, Wesley, Before and MARS.