Azerbaijan ‘suspends’ Wolt for food safety violations, 16 August 2023

Azerbaijani authorities have issued an order to suspend delivery service Wolt’s activities in the country for violating health regulations. The order is, as of yet, non-binding, and Wolt continues to operate in Azerbaijan.

The Food Safety Agency ordered the suspension of the Finnish food ordering and delivery platform on 14 August, for violating ‘technical and regulatory’ requirements.

It also accused Wolt of violating temperature and storage regulations. It also claimed that vehicles used for deliveries were not disinfected and that its couriers do not undergo medical examination...

In its response to the Food Safety Agency, Wolt Azerbaijan accused the agency of damaging its reputation through ‘incomplete and false information’...

While several other delivery platforms currently operate in Azerbaijan, civil society activists speculate that the authorities are attempting to crack down on the food delivery sector in an effort to monopolise the market through new applications...

‘The government that arrested the members of the Workers’ Table, instead of trying to find a solution in this area, decided the issue once and for all by suspending Wolt’s activity in Azerbaijan’, said Mammadli.