The price of glass will go down in Azerbaijan after Azerbaijan-China JV Azershushe comes onstream. Gudrat Kerimov, president of Khazar Co, the only glassmaker in Azerbaijan, said Azerbaijan imports glass mainly from Russia, Turkey, Iran & China, to supply its demand while customs duties, transport expenses, crack & break push up prices. "There will be no need for glass imports after the factory begins to operate" said a company spokesperson. "This means that we can expect prices to fall, perhaps significantly, given that the new factory will be able to make glass in any size, markets will no longer need to be supplemented by imports." Azerbaijan's annual demand for flat glass is around 3M sq/m. The JV is scheduled to come onstream April 2009. The country has low fuel costs & the lack of import duties means that glass will benefit from a very competitive price.
