Cotton, often referred to as the “white gold” of Azerbaijan, has a long history of production in the country. As potential investors in Azerbaijan require an analysis of the performance of the cotton sector, its main opportunities and risks, this joint sector review of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provides a general overview of the sector, followed by an analysis of more specific aspects of cotton production such as economic and financial profitability, agronomic practices, and social and environmental risks. While expanding cotton production presents a number of opportunities, notably in terms of its potential to provide employment in rural areas and its export potential, the report also underlines a number of environmental and social risks related to the growth of the sector.

This study was produced under an FAO-EBRD Cooperation project on reviewing the development potential of the tea sectors of Azerbaijan and Georgia. As a result of the joint research in the two countries carried out as part of the project, a similar separate review of the Georgian tea sector was also published under the FAO Investment Centre's Knowledge for Investment (K4I) programme. Tea has a long tradition of cultivation in Azerbaijan and Georgia, dating back to the nineteenth century. The structural changes that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s led to a dramatic decline of the two countries’ tea sectors. However, interest in tea production in Georgia and Azerbaijan has increased in recent years and, in an effort to revive their once thriving tea sectors, governments have adopted sector development programmes that provide for support to primary tea production. In spite of the long tradition and accumulated know-how of tea production and processing, there is little doubt that investments in both technology and knowledge will be required for the Azerbaijani and Georgian tea sectors to grow in a successful and sustainable way. Production focused on efficiency and quality and mindful of shifts in consumer preferences on global markets, but also of potential environmental risks, will be critical in achieving this goal. This publication is part of the Country Investment Highlights series under the FAO Investment Centre's Knowledge for Investment (K4I) programme.

FAO’s major publications series are presented together in a user-friendly catalogue. The catalogue features all of the most active series, both new and long-standing, and is divided into areas of work, including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, trade and investment, among others. Each series entry includes technical specifications, language versions, most recent titles, relevant ISSNs, and QR codes linking to online resources in the FAO Document Repository.

The publication presents analysis of agricultural trade policies in post-Soviet countries. The aim of the review is to monitor the latest changes in trade policies of these countries, affecting the dynamics and structure of trade. The publication includes a chapter with an overview of the prospects for expanding the agricultural trade of some Central Asian countries with China and the Russian Federation, and a chapter about the impact of climate change on agricultural trade in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The document is based on the publication “Review of Agricultural Trade Policies in former Soviet Union countries 2015-16” available in Russian. The main economic and political factors influencing the patterns of agrifood trade in the region during 2014 generally continued to have an impact in 2015 and 2016. In particular, a further slowdown in economic growth was observed in all countries during 2015. In addition, the depreciation of all the national currencies against the US dollar and the euro , which began in 2014, continued in 2015 and, in some cases, in 2016. Due to weaker national currencies and falling consumer demand, the total value of imports of agrifood products in dollar terms decreased in many countries. The decline in demand for agrifood products in the region and lower international prices also contributed to the reduction in the value of agrifood exports from the region. At the same time, the last two years have been marked by stronger integration processes affecting agr ifood trade among several countries in the region.