Supporting the activity of small and medium entrepreneurs, developing the non-oil sector and increasing the employment of the population in the production sphere are the main objectives of the establishment of the Industrial Blocs in Azerbaijan. It is enough to take a look at the activity of the factories operating in Neftchala Industrial Bloc to see the significance of the works carried out in this field clearly. The products manufactured at Neftchala Food Production Factory meet not only domestic demands, but also are exported abroad.

Fish, livestock food and birdseed meeting the world standards is manufactured at the factory. The production facility is the first fish food factory in the South Caucasus.

According to executive director of the factory Mehman Hajiyev, food for sturgeons and carps is produced here: "Before we launched production, all fishing facilities had purchased food from overseas. However, after we started production, they buy products from us."

It is planned to construct a 10,000-ton barn-elevator complex of Neftchala Food Production Factory in the future. Thus, food, such as barley, wheat, corn, will be purchased from farmers at a low price during the season. In the wider perspective, the factory will be engaged in the cultivation of agricultural lands and produce high quality raw material – wheat and corn.

The productive capacity of Neftchala Food Production Factory is 15 tons per hour. Fish food makes up 5 tons of that. This factory is considered the biggest and the only fish food manufacturer in the South Caucasus based on its size and quality. The products manufactured completely meet the domestic demands. Moreover, it is also exported overseas.

Azerbaijan exports birdseed to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Negotiations are underway with Iran and Iraq as new export markets. Real sales will be carried out to these countries in the first months of the year.

Currently, more than 20 people work at the factory. After the barn complex is commissioned, their number will reach 50. As the additional state support for the factory, the credit of the Entrepreneurship Development Fund and the Investment Promotion Documents have been given to the factory. It means approximately 1.2 mln AZN of savings.

The project is the first food production factory in Azerbaijan operating on the extrusion technology. Extruded fish food has great advantages before casual pellet food. Therefore, the products manufactured by the factory do not have an alternative. Here, there are opportunities to manufacture food for all types of fish. The most interesting thing is that the demand for food for cattle and birds in the south-east of the country is met by the production facility at 250 km away. It means savings in terms of money and most importantly, time.

Aysham Rustamova