Georgia is increasing its role as an important trade partner for the European Union (EU), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and other countries.
In January-July 2018, trade turnover with EU countries increased by 25.6 percent (amounted to $1.95 billion) and with CIS countries by 33.5 percent year-on-year (y/y) (amounted to $2.38 billion), says the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).
In the reporting period export from Georgia to the EU countries amounted to $417.7 million, while imports amounted to $1.53 billion.
In January-July 2018 export to the CIS countries stood at $872.9 million and reached 46.7 percent of total exports, while imports equalled $1.51 billion with 29.2 percent in total import.
Overall, Georgia’s top 10 trade partners in January-July 2018 made for 66.4 percent of the country’s total trade turnover, with Turkey ($1 billion), Russia ($760.9 million) and China ($611.7 million) filling the top three spots.
Georgia’s top exported commodities in January-July 2018 were:
- Copper ores and concentrates (worth $278.1 million, or 19.1 percent of total exports)
- Ferro-alloys (worth $205.9 million, or 14.2 percent of total exports)
- Motor cars (worth $203.1 million, or 14 percent of total exports)
Georgia’s top imported commodities were:
- Petroleum and petroleum oils (worth $489.3 million, or 9.4 percent of total imports)
- Motor cars (worth $335.3 million, or 6.5 percent of total imports)
- Copper ores and concentrates (worth $218 million or 4.2 percent of total imports)
Overall, Georgia’s external trade grew by 24.4 percent in January-July 2018 and reached $7.05 billion, says the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).
In the first seven months of 2018 the value of Georgia’s exports increased by 28.8 percent to $1.87 billion, while the value of imports also increased 22.9 percent to $5.18 billion with respect to January-July 2017, says the Geostat data.
