Georgia’s external trade up 18%:
Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan – top trading partners

Turkey, Russia and Azerbaijan were Georgia’s top trade partners this year, shows preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

Georgia’s top 10 trade partners in January-February 2017 made for 67 percent of the country’s total trade turnover, with Turkey ($198 million), Russia ($163 million) and Azerbaijan ($146 million) filling the top three spots.

Trade with EU countries

Trade turnover with European Union (EU) countries increased by 15 percent year-on-year (y/y) and amounted to $375 million, said Geostat.

Exports were worth $102 million (31 percent higher), while imports reached $274 million (10 percent higher).

Trade with CIS countries

The external trade turnover of Georgia with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries totalled $497 million in January-February 2017 – a 40 percent higher compared to January 2016.

Exports were worth $129 million (75 percent higher) while imports equalled $367 million (31 percent higher).

What are Georgia's main exports?

Georgia's top exported commodities in January-February 2017 were:

• Copper ores and concentrates (worth $58 million, or 16 percent of total exports)
• Ferro-alloys (worth $53 million, or 15 percent of total exports)
• Natural wines (worth $20 million, or six percent of total exports)

What are Georgia's main imports?

Georgia's top imported commodities were:

• Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons (worth $109 million, or 10 percent of total imports)
• Petroleum and petroleum oils (worth $70 million, or seven percent of total imports)
• Copper ores and concentrates (worth $59 million or six percent of total imports)

Georgia’s external trade in January-February 2017

Georgia’s external trade grew by 18 percent this year and reached $1.4 billion in January-February 2017.

This year the value of Georgia’s exports increased by 27 percent to $356 million, while the value of imports also increased 15 percent to $1.06 billion with respect to January-February 2016.

Georgia’s trade deficit equalled $712 million this year, which was a 50 percent share of the country's total trade turnover.

Trade deficit is an economic measure of the negative balance of trade in which a country's imports exceed its exports.