Azerbaijan's foreign trade turnover drop said related to volatility of global energy markets

Azerbaijan’s foreign trade turnover decreased by $772m or 19 percent, amounting to $3.3bn in January 2023 compared to the same period of 2022, Azernews reports, citing the State Customs Committee.

Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan conducted trade operations with partners in 136 countries. During the reporting period, Azerbaijan's export dropped to $1.9bn. Since the bulk of Azerbaijan’s export made up of oil and gas, this sharp decrease relates to the volatility of global energy markets. Besides, the import of Azerbaijan grew $437m or by 45 percent up $1.4bn. Overall, the country's foreign trade turnover resulted in a surplus of $464m.

During the reporting period, exports of non-oil and gas products increased by 22.5 percent and amounted to $284.5m. Electricity with $72m, fruit and vegetables with $45m, Plastics and products made of plastics with $37m, chemical products with $32m, and cotton with $16m stand out among non-oil-and-gas exports.

Italy accounted for 19.84 percent of Azerbaijan's total trade turnover, Turkiye for 12.21 percent, Russia for 10.22 percent, Israel for 7.23 percent each with China for 5.84 percent.

The top five countries importing Azerbaijani products are Italy with 32.23 percent of exports, Turkiye and Israel with 12.64 percent, Turkiye with 11.69 percent, Germany with 5.06 percent, and India with 4.57 percent each.

Azerbaijan's top importers are Russia with 18.96 percent, France with 13.10 percent, China with 12.91 percent, Turkiye with 12.90 percent, and Germany with 4.64 percent.

In terms of non-oil and gas products exports, the most export volume accounts for Turkiye (37.50 percent), Russia (23.93 percent), Georgia (8.6 percent), Ukraine (4.6 percent), and Switzerland (2.55 percent).