In Azerbaijan, raised prices of bread hit budget of villagers

An increase in the cost of bread forced residents of Azerbaijani villages to reconsider their expenses. The increase in the prices of flour and bread affected the socially unprotected groups of the population, economists confirmed.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in early January, prices for bread increased in Azerbaijani stores, which came as a surprise to buyers. Producers explained the rise in the prices of bread by the rise in the price of wheat imported from Russia.

Some residents of Azerbaijani villages admitted that the increase in the cost of bread will affect their family budget. In particular, the above opinion was also voiced by farmer Medjid Gadjiev. His spouse is a housewife, and the man himself breeds cows for meat.

Ainur, a spouse of convicted oppositionist Agil Gumbatov, lives with three sick children in the village of Fatmai in the Apsheron District. The woman receives an allowance from the authorities for children in the amount of 280 manats per month, and this is the only income for the family. According to Ainur, colleagues of her husband, members of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, help the family.

“The increase in the price of bread is a disaster for us. We will be starving if my husband’s friends do not help us,” Ainur Gumbatova said.

“Most of the population are poor people, and they meet the need for food mainly with bread,” said Sagib Gurbanov, a manager of the agricultural sector, the head of the department of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA).

In Azerbaijan, poor people buy less food because of the rise in bread prices, and the number of “people picking up food from garbage cans” is growing, said Vakhid Magerramov, an economist and the chair of the “Association for Assistance to Agrarian Reforms”.