BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 14. A regular meeting of the working group on monitoring inflation and prices was held, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan told TurkicWorld.

The working group meeting, chaired by the head of the Cabinet of Ministers Office, Rufat Mammadov, discussed price changes in the consumer market from January to November 2023, including food and non-food products, paid services rendered to the population, the price index for imported products in the food market, agricultural producer prices, government anti-inflationary measures, and ways of fulfilling the instructions assigned to the relevant structures.

According to State Statistics Committee data, the average annual inflation rate from January to November 2023 was 9.4 percent in single-digit terms, while the annual inflation rate was 2.6 percent. According to the most recent UN Food and Agriculture Organization data, the food price index in November declined 10.6 percent year on year. The inflation dynamics have slowed as a result of external variables and anti-inflationary measures.

The meeting addressed the issues of the study of the food market, where the highest price growth is observed, the reasons for the differences between the prices, the level of concentration of imports of the presented goods used in the calculation of the consumer price index, the results of competitive analysis on the sale of agricultural products and medicines on the market, the costs of the supply chain based on imports and domestically produced products, as well as anti-inflationary monetary policy conducted by the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication.

The Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication presented a methodological framework document on the basic principles of the Price Tracking Annex, in which it was deemed appropriate to establish a working group consisting of representatives of the relevant structures.

At the end of the meeting, the head of the working group on monitoring inflation and prices noted that next year the necessary work will be done to continue anti-inflationary measures, to ensure a healthy competitive environment in the domestic market, to monitor prices and study their causes, and to ensure an acceptable level of inflation for economic growth.

The adoption of the Competition Code will give a positive impetus to these processes.