March 3, 2012 - 10:52 AMT
Nestle severs trade with Azerbaijan

The world's leading supplier of food, Swiss Nestle company has suspended the entire range of its products in Azerbaijan.

The reason for this unexpected move was corruption revealed in the financial relations between the local distribution company and the customs authorities of Azerbaijan, contact.az reports.

Regional audit conducted recently in Aylin company (the exclusive distributor of Nestle in Azerbaijan) revealed a fact of corruption; this was reported to Nestle headquarters in Switzerland. Learning about systemic corruption, the company decided to break off all trade relations with Azerbaijan.

Representatives of Aylin confirmed suspension of Nestle brands delivery to Azerbaijan. “Product stock will suffice for 1-2 months. Therefore, goods are being sold in small consignments for cash only," the company said.

So, Nestle products will be off the store shelves in the near future.

"Customs in Azerbaijan is an instrument of power and control over illegal local market," Chairman of the Public Association "Assistance to Economic Initiatives" (PEI) Mehdiyev said. He stressed that the Customs Service provides informal control over the participants of the import-export operations.

The PEI representative believes that corruption hinders Azerbaijan's entry into the World Trade Organization, negotiations over which are ongoing for 15 years already.

In Azerbaijan, virtually all business entities are forced to operate on the principle of double-entry bookkeeping, which allows to escape official tax payments.

Nestle which supplied Azerbaijan mainly with coffee, baby food and confectionery products, always insisted on honest business in the country, unwilling to bribe customs and tax services. Therefore, it faced pressure from these structures.