Ilham Aliyev inspected operations of horticulture and cold storage complex in Gusar District

On April 30th, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev visited the horticulture and cold storage complex of "Ismikhanli" Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the Gusar district.

Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov briefed the President on the complex's operations.

The company has established state-of-the-art intensive orchards covering 330 hectares in Gusar and 30 hectares in Agsu. Currently, these orchards feature 230 hectares of apple trees, 35 hectares of pear trees, 26 hectares of peach trees, 21 hectares of nectarine trees, and 18 hectares of cherry trees. This intensive orchard model maximizes the efficient use of agricultural land and enables high productivity.

The complex maintains year-round sales and export of the harvested fruits. Products are sold on the local market and exported to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia.

Experts from Turkiye, Italy, and Spain have been brought in to ensure precise and efficient agro-technical practices in the orchards. Highly efficient drip irrigation technology is employed, ensuring environmental sustainability and preventing water loss. The farm's equipment fleet features modern machinery from leading global manufacturers.

The cold storage complex was commissioned in October 2023. It includes a refrigerated fruit storage facility with a capacity of 8,700 tons, a sorting and packaging area, a materials warehouse, and loading docks. The storage facility is equipped with 29 refrigeration chambers, each with a 300-ton capacity.

The modern sorting equipment categorizes fruits by color, shape, and size, ensuring packaging meets market demands. The sorting area also features equipment capable of producing over a thousand folding and gluing packaging boxes per hour.

The "Ismikhanli" horticulture and cold storage complex, a project valued at 18 million manats, provides 270 permanent jobs and 400 seasonal jobs. The Entrepreneurship Development Fund under the Ministry of Economy provided a concessional loan of 3.3 million manats to support the project. The company also benefited from customs and tax exemptions on imported equipment.