In the first month of this year, Azerbaijan sold 116 live horses to foreign countries.
A calculation by Yeniavaz.com, citing published official data, shows that horse exports have declined compared to the same period last year.
Thus, in the first month of 2023, 146 horses were sold abroad from Azerbaijan.
This year, the average customs value of a horse sold abroad was $200 (340 manat).
For information, the vast majority of horses - 105 heads - were sold to Kazakhstan. In addition, 11 horses were sold to Turkey.
It should be noted that the export of live horses (for meat) in Azerbaijan began for the first time in 2016. That year, 1,155 horses were exported, of which 1,120 were sold to Kazakhstan. In 2016, the average customs value of a horse sold to Kazakhstan was $140. In 2017, horse exports increased 6.6 times compared to 2016 and reached 7,619 horses, all of which were sold to Kazakhstan. The average customs cost was $148.
In 2018, horse sales dropped to 2,071. The average customs value of one horse was $149.
In 2019, horse exports were 461, 208 in 2020, 349 in 2021, 3524 in 2022 and 2793 in 2023.
It should be noted that countries that do not consume horse meat are considered to be Islamic countries (except Central Asia) and English-speaking countries. Horse meat is one of the most commonly consumed types of meat in France, Italy, Belgium, Germany and other countries, including Central Asian countries.
One of the notable things about the horse trade is that, unlike in previous years, Azerbaijan imported horse meat from Kazakhstan, where live horses had previously been exported. In January of this year, 14.53 tons of horse meat were imported from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan. The average customs value of 1 kilogram of imported horse meat was 1.7 dollars (2.9 manats).

Elnur Ali