ASSA-IRADA,
14, February 2008

Prices remained stable in many countries of the world, but a contrary tendency was observed in Azerbaijan in January, local researchers have found.

Gubad Ibadoglu, director of the local Economic Research Center working on alternative methods of calculating inflation under a USAID-funded project, told a news conference Thursday that there were changes in price levels on certain groups of commodities.

"Unlike January 2007, the hikes mostly affected prices on food. The highest increases were observed in those for meat as well as milk and dairy products," the researcher said. He linked the development with the drop in agricultural production last year as well as the rises in prices for feed used in animal husbandry.

Ibadoglu maintained the developments indicated that the government's statements that rising inflation was related to imports were not fully substantiated.

"In the mentioned period, high inflation was chiefly registered on domestically-produced goods. Among imported commodities, only the prices for fruit juices increased, which is due to the efforts aimed at providing favorable conditions for the sale of domestic goods," Ibadoglu concluded.