Georgia’s Foreign Trade Turnover Increased by 13.8% in 2017
Georgia’s foreign trade turnover increased by 13.8% in 2017, reaching USD 10.7 billion, according to the preliminary figures released by the state statistics office Geostat in January 2018, based on The Financial.
Exports from Georgia increased by 29.1% year-on-year to USD 2.72 billion and imports were up by 9.4% y/y to USD 7.97 billion in 2017, with trade gap standing at USD 5.25 billion.
Trade turnover with the EU-member states stood at USD 2.84 billion in 2017, a 2% increase compared to 2016. Exports from Georgia to the EU-member states increased by 13% y/y to USD 646.5 million, while imports constituted USD 2.19 billion in 2017, a 0.8% decline y/y.
Trade turnover with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased by 30.2% y/y in 2017 to USD 3.54 billion. Georgian exports to CIS countries were up by 60% y/y (to USD 1.18) billion, and imports increased by 19.2% (to USD 2.36 billion).
The share of the EU countries in the foreign trade turnover of Georgia stood at 26.6%; 23.7% in exports and 27.5% in imports (in 2016 the corresponding figures stood at 29.6%, 27.1% and 30.4%).
The share of the CIS countries constituted 33.1%, 43.3% in exports and 29.6% in imports (28.9%, 34.9% and 27.2% in 2016, respectively).
Turkey remains Georgia’s largest trading partner with USD 1.58 billion in 2017, followed by Russia, China and Azerbaijan with USD 1.18 billion, USD 939 million and USD 881 million, respectively. They are followed by Ukraine with total trade turnover of USD 569 million; Armenia — USD 489 million; Germany — USD 478 million; the United States — USD 389 million; Bulgaria — USD 334 million; Italy — USD 286 million.
Copper ores and concentrates were on top of the list of exports in 2017 with USD 419 million (15.4% of total exports), followed by ferroalloys — USD 306 million (11.3% of total exports); re-export of motor cars — USD 234 million (8.6% of total exports); wine — USD 170 million (6.3% of total exports); medicines — USD 140 million (5.2% of total exports); non-denatured ethyl alcohol and spirits — USD 126 million (4.6% of total exports); mineral waters — USD 95 million (3.5% of total exports); hazelnuts — USD 83 million (3% of total exports); chemical fertilizers — USD 76 million (2.8% of total exports); raw or semi-processed gold — USD 70 million (2.6% of total exports); other commodities — USD 1 billion (36.7% of total exports).
Oil and oil products remain on top of the list of imports with USD 696 million, followed by cars — USD 474 million; petroleum gases — USD 350 million; medicines — USD 346 million; copper ores and concentrates — USD 338 million; mobile and other wireless phones — USD 204 million; cigarettes — USD 102 million; wheat — USD 98 million; automatic data processing machines — USD 96 million; trucks — USD 72 million; other commodities — USD 5.19 billion.