Azernews.Az

By Sara Israfilbayova

Textile industry of Azerbaijan has deep roots and centuries-old history. The socio-economic policy pursued in Azerbaijan in recent years, as well as the implementation of programs aimed at the development of agriculture and industry, led to the implementation of large-scale projects in this area.

Azerbaijan intends to strengthen its position in production of textile products.

Deputy Economy Minister of Azerbaijan Sahib Mammadov said at an event dedicated to the development of the textile industry in the country that Azerbaijan creates an association of producers and exporters of textile products.

Addressing the event he noted that such initiative came from the entrepreneurs, operating in this field.

"The creation of the association will accelerate the adoption of necessary decisions aimed at the development of this sector. In general, these industry associations serve to improve relations between the state and the private sector. There are already eight industry associations in the country and today we are participating in the creation of the ninth,” Mammadov stated.

Arif Mardanov, the Executive Director of the Baku spinning and weaving factory, in turn, noted that the association should solve a sufficient number of problems that take place in this sector.

He went on to say that more than 70 percent of raw materials come to the country from foreign countries, adding that despite the fact that recently the cotton production have been significantly increased, the quality of the raw material leaves much to be desired.

Textile Park Gilan, which at present has the highest export potential in Azerbaijan, started its operations in the year 2012 in the city of Sumgayit. In a Gilan Textile Park products are made of high quality Azerbaijani cotton and meet European standards. The enterprise has Weaving, Paint and Sewing factories.

Moreover, in Mingachevir Industrial Park, Mingachevir Tekstil LLC started construction of factories producing 20,000 tons of yarn per year on the basis of technologies from Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Turkey.

The Economy Ministry reported that the creation of such enterprises will reduce the dependence of the sphere of light industry on imports, increase the export potential, create national textile brands, train specialized personnel and open new work places.

The enterprises envisage the opening of 550 workplaces, according to the message.

Nine enterprises will be built at the Mingachevir Industrial Park, the territory of which is 120,000 square meters. It is planned to produce 10,000 tons of yarn per year at the enterprise for the production of cotton yarn at the initial stage and 20,000 tons at the next stage.

These enterprises will produce 3,000 tons of acrylic yarn, 3,000 tons of wool yarn, 70 million pairs of socks and stockings and 1.5 million pairs of leather shoes annually.

Experts believe that the export potential of textile products will grow after the commissioning of 9 production facilities in the Mingachevir Industrial Park with a total investment of 1$50-200 million.

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