On April 25, 2024, the next meeting of the AHK Azerbaijan Agriculture and Food Working Group was held at the AHK Azerbaijan office to discuss the process of obtaining documents and certificates required for export and the pressing issue of the lack of skilled labour. 

Mr Tobias Baumann, who opened the meeting, welcomed the participants and introduced the speakers to the guests. He then provided the participants with information about the progress of the meeting. He then handed over the floor to Mr Anar Aghayev, the Chairperson of the Agriculture and Food Industry Working Group and the CEO of Food City Agropark LLC.

Mr Aghayev greeted the participants and provided information about the activities of the working group and the objectives of the platform. He mentioned three main areas of activity of the working group, namely research of difficulties, implementation of relevant measures, and overcoming difficulties. Mr Aghayev emphasized that the most common difficulties are related to export, bureaucratic obstacles, and access to financial resources. He also provided detailed information about certification difficulties related to exports and obtaining certificates.

He then passed the floor to Mr Shamo Muradov, the director of Incert LLC.

Mr Muradov greeted the guests and began his speech on the topic of necessary certificates and solutions for entering foreign markets. Providing information about the company, Mr. Muradov emphasized that the company's vision and mission, as well as its values, include reliability, professionalism, and honesty. He provided extensive information about the most demanded certificates such as ISO 22000, BRC, HALAL, and others, and which countries require these certificates. After providing information about the FSSC 22000 standard, Mr Muradov explained the differences between this standard and the ISO 22000 standard to the guests. He also provided extensive information to the participants about the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standard, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) standard for food safety, and the International Food Standard (IFS). At the end of his speech, he provided information about the Global G.A.P. standard for the production of agricultural products, as well as organic certification.

Mr Aghayev then gave the floor to Ms Jana Tichomirova, the project manager for Azerbaijan at the German Senior Experts Service (SES).

Ms Tichomirova provided detailed information about SES, including its structure and projects implemented in Africa, Europe, Asia, and other countries. She also noted who can work as experts for SES and emphasized that this work is voluntary. Ms Tichomirova mentioned the areas of activity of experts, including production, consultancy, medical and educational services, and the quality of labor. She noted that in 2023, projects in the agricultural sector were among the leading projects. At the end of her speech, she provided extensive information about projects in the field of agriculture and food industry in Azerbaijan.

The meeting concluded with an active question-and-answer session.