Azernews.Az

Inflation exceeded 25% in Azerbaijan in January-November, local researchers estimated, despite official sources saying the figure was considerably below that level.
The biggest rise was observed in fees on services - 37.56%, head of the Economic Research Center (ERC) Gubad Ibadoglu told a news conference while drawing up the outcomes of the group's research conducted in 22 regions across the country.
Ibadoglu said the observations show that growth in the overall consumer price index in Azerbaijan in 11 months made up 25.65%. The figure was 26.48% in the capital Baku and 24.6% in the regions. Food prices went up 24.31% and those on other goods - 19.09%.
Ibadoglu, whose center calculates inflation using alternative methods under a USAID-funded project, said that among all goods, the highest inflation rate in November was registered on food - 4.85%, more than 2% above that on other commodities. Prices for butter grew by over 11%, while those on fruits and vegetables - by almost 8%, meat and fish 3.14%, and beverages and tobacco - slightly over 1%. The fees on services edged up by one percentage point last month, the ERC said.
Ibadoglu said inflation is likely to keep rising and reach 30% by the end of 2007 in light of the upcoming religious Gurban Holiday and the New Year. He emphasized that the government has outlined measures to curb price rises.
"The Economic Development Ministry says it is taking certain steps to prevent price increases. But we are against administrative management of inflation levels. We believe the government should take action to stabilize prices and boost competition," the researcher said.
The government cited divergent figures. The State Statistics Committee chairman Arif Valiyev said inflation made up only 16.4% in the country in January-November and will not exceed 17% by the year-end. Price rises were mostly observed on food and dairy products, he told a press conference on Friday.
Prices for butter grew 56%, while those for vegetable oil - 46%, and flour about 50%. Prices for meet increased as well, with a 4% rise registered on beef and 11% on chicken.
In November, price increases constituted 3.2%, with mainly meat, butter and other essential foodstuffs becoming more expensive.
Commenting on the estimates by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggesting that food prices have risen 65% in Azerbaijan this year, Valiyev said the real figure was 15.8%.
The National Bank (NBA) board chairman Elman Rustamov concurred with the committee chairman, although he predicted a slightly higher inflation rate for the whole year - 17-18%.
It is indicative that the central banker cited outside factors affecting price levels in Azerbaijan. He said that if it were not for the 7% "imported" inflation in 2007, which was caused by rising prices for crude and commodities in world markets, the government would have succeeded in containing the figure within 10%, as predicted earlier.
Monopolies are also often cited as one of the reasons for inflationary increases.
President Ilham Aliyev issued instructions at a government meeting on the outcomes of the first nine months of 2007 to take action to curb inflation. Independent analysts predict further increases in domestic prices next year, but the government has vowed to prevent them.