Azerbaijan increases number of foreign trade partners

Some 183 countries became Azerbaijan’s foreign trade partners in January-November 2016 compared to 162 countries in the same period of 2015, the country’s State Customs Committee said in a report.

According to the report, 13,244 legal entities and individuals (of them 5,226 legal entities and 8,018 individuals) were involved in the country’s foreign economic activities.

Azerbaijan’s foreign trade operations decreased by 20.2 percent and reached $16.03 billion in January-November 2016 as compared to the same period of 2015, said the State Customs Committee.

The reporting period of 2016 completed with a positive balance of $598.18 million, while a surplus of $2.42 billion was observed as of November 2015.

Azerbaijan exported products worth almost $8.31 billion (a decrease by 30.02 percent for the year) in January-November 2016.

The share of public sector in the exports amounted to $6.53 billion, while the share of private sector – over $1.55 billion and individuals - $236.74 million.

The country’s imports reached almost $7.72 billion in January-November 2016, that is, 6 percent less than in January-November 2015. The public sector’s share in imports totaled $1.03 billion, and the share of private sector - $6.25 billion and individuals - $440.06 million.

Azerbaijan exported 2,809 kinds of goods and imported 7,228 kinds of goods in January-November 2016.