Issue 70: External Trade – I Quarter, 2016

In the first quarter of 2016:

• The volume of registered trade turnover in goods was US$2 146 mln. The share of registered import of goods in total turnover was 79.4% and the share of registered export of goods was 20.6%.
• The trade balance has improved by 2.5%, while exports declined by 11.9%, and imports declined by 5.1%.
• The top three exported commodities from Georgia are: copper ores (19%), motor cars (8.5%) and nuts (7.4%), while the top three imported commodities to Georgia are: medicaments (15.8%), gases (7.3%) and motor cars (5.8%).
• Georgia’s top three export partners are: Turkey (12.4%), China (12.3%) and Russia (9.6%), while the main import partners are: Turkey (17.4%), Ireland (12.3%) and Russia (8.6%).

        Source: GeoStat

In the first quarter of 2016, the volume of registered trade turnover in goods declined by 6.6% compared to the corresponding period in 2015, amounting to US$2 146 mln.

In this period, compared to the first quarter of 2015, exports declined by 11.9% and the import declined by 5.1%*. Due to the fact, that the volume of import declined (-US$92 mln) more compared the volume of exports (-US$60 mln), the external trade balance improved (2.5%).

* This indicator includes medicaments for hepatitis C, which were given as a present from Ireland to the country. If we do not count the corresponding value (US$208.1 mln) in imports, then in this period the volume of imports is US$1 495 mln, which is lower (-16.7%) then the corresponding indicator in 2015. Hence, the trade balance has improved by US$240.5 mln (18.6%).

During the first quarter of 2016, the top five exported commodities from Georgia were: copper ores (19%), motor cars (8.5%), nuts (7.4%), ferro-alloys (6.1%) and nitrogenous fertilizers (5.3%).

Copper ores were exported mainly to Bulgaria, China and Spain; motor cars to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Switzerland and the UAE; nuts to Italy, Germany and Spain; ferro-alloys to USA, Russia, Ukraine and Canada; nitrogenous fertilizers to Poland, Bulgaria, India and Romania.

In the first quarter of 2016, the top five imported commodities in the country were: medicaments (15.8%)**, gases (7.3%), motor cars (5.8%), petroleum (5.5%) and copper ores (4.6%).

Medicaments were mainly imported from Ireland, Turkey, Germany and France; gases from Azerbaijan and Russia; motor cars from Germany, Japan and USA; petroleum from Romania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Turkmenistan; copper ores from Armenia, Brazil, Portugal and Azerbaijan.

** This Indicator includes medicaments for hepatitis C, which were given as a present to the country. If we do not count this value (US$208.1 mln) in imports, the share of medicaments in the total imports equals 3%.

In the first quarter of 2016, Georgia’s top five export partners were: Turkey (12.4%), China (12.3%), Russia (9.6%), Bulgaria (8.8%) and Armenia (7.1%). Compared to the first quarter of 2015, exports increased significantly to Turkey (22.5%), China (105.2%) and Russia (41.6%), while they declined to Bulgaria (-31.2%) and Armenia (-15.2%).

During this period, the main commodities exported to Turkey were t-shirts, fertilizers, fish, rods of iron or non-alloy steel and medicaments; to China – copper ores, copper waste and scrap, wine, alcohol and electric apparatus; to Russia – wine, mineral waters, ferro-alloys, alcohol, nuts and motor cars; to Bulgaria – copper ores, petroleum, fertilizers and ferro-alloys; to Armenia – motor cars and trucks, alcohol, fertilizers, corn, medicaments and electricity.

In the first quarter of 2016, the top five import partners were: Turkey (17.4%), Ireland (12.3%)***, Russia (8.6%), Azerbaijan (8.4%) and China (7%).

During this period, the import increased from Ireland (125times) and Russia (2.6%), while the import declined from the following countries: China (-29.1%), Turkey (-8.8%) and Azerbaijan (-5.4%), compared to the first quarter of 2015.

The main imported commodities from Turkey were: structures and parts of iron or steel, medicaments, turbines, tubes, cables, washing and cleaning preparations; from Ireland – medicaments, automatic data processing machines, mixtures of odoriferous substances, milk and cream, ethyl spirits; from Russia – petroleum and petroleum gases, electricity, cigarettes, chocolate, seed oil and medicaments; from Azerbaijan – petroleum gases, petroleum, gypsum, electricity, margarine, tea and seed oil, from China – automatic data processing machines, structures and parts of iron or steel, telephone sets, refrigerators and refrigerating equipment, new pneumatic tyres of rubber.

***  This indicator includes medicaments for hepatitis C, which were given as a present from Ireland to Georgia. If we do not count the corresponding value in imports (US$208.1 mln), the share of Ireland in the total imports is 0.1%.

        Source: National Bank of Georgia
                         Ministry of Finance of Georgia                                                                                                                                           Forecasted *
                         National Statistics Office of Georgia
                         http://comtrade.un.org/data/