Georgia is increasing its role as an important trade partner for the European Union (EU) and other countries.
In January-October 2018, trade turnover with EU countries increased by 18.6% (amounted to $2.76 billion) and with CIS countries by 27.4% year-on-year (y/y) (amounted to $3.51 billion), says the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).
In the reporting period export from Georgia to the EU countries amounted to $599.7 million, while imports amounted to $2.16 billion.
In January-October 2018 export to the CIS countries stood at $1.31 billion, while imports equalled $2.19 billion.
Georgia’s top exported commodities in January-October 2018 were:
- Copper ores and concentrates (worth $423.9 million, or 15.4% of total exports)
- Motor cars (worth $316.6 million, or 11.5% of total exports)
- Ferro-alloys (worth $301.3 million, or 11% of total exports)
Georgia’s top imported commodities were:
- Petroleum and petroleum oils (worth $730 million, or 9.7% of total imports)
- Motor cars (worth $492 million, or 6.5% of total imports)
- Copper ores and concentrates (worth $338.3 million or 4.5% of total imports)
Overall, Georgia’s external trade grew by 20.5% in January-October 2018 and reached $10.30 billion, says Geostat.
In the first seven months of 2018 the value of Georgia’s exports increased by 24.5% to $2.75 billion, while the value of imports also increased 19.2% to $7.55 billion with respect to January-October 2017.