Azerbaijan’s exports hit $6.9bn in 2020

30 June 2020 15:58 (UTC+04:00)

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By Akbar Mammadov

The volume of Azerbaijan's exports amounted to 6.9 billion USD in the period between January-May in 2020, the Center for Economic Reform Analysis and Communication reported in its "Export Review" on June 30.

Exports in non-oil sectors decreased by 8.9 percent in the reported period amounting to 721 million US dollars.

Top importers of Azerbaijan’s non-oil goods in quarters one were Russia ($271 million), Turkey ($144.3 million), Georgia ($70.5 million), Switzerland ($71.5 million) and China ($23.6 million).

Compared to the same period in 2019, non-oil exports to Russia increased by 3.6 per cent, while non-oil exports to Switzerland and China grew by 26 and 40.3 per cent respectively in the first five months of 2020.

Regarding the list of non-oil exports in January-May 2020, tomatoes ($123.1 million) ranked first, whereas gold (not used in coinage, other unprocessed forms - $64.7 million) was second and peeled hazelnuts ($ 51 million) were third.

In general, in January-May of 2020, exports of fruits and vegetables amounted to $236.5 million, which was the highest among all the non-oil products. In the case of other non-oil products, exports of cotton fibre amounted 49.5 million, aluminium and aluminium products - 31.5 million, chemical products - 34.4 million, ferrous metals and exports of their products amounted to 19.5 million US dollars, cotton yarn - 9.2 million US dollars, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages - 5.7 million US dollars, sugar - 5.9 million US dollars.

In May 2020, exports in the non-oil sector amounted to $172.6 million, meaning that it decreased by 17.8 per cent compared to the previous period.

Furthermore, in May 2020, most non-oil and gas products were exported to Russia ($84.8 million), Switzerland ($23 million), Turkey ($22.2 million), Georgia ($11.7 million) and to China ($5.4 million).

Similarly, in May 2020, in the non-oil sector, exports of tomatoes ($49.7 million) were the leader, while gold (not used in coinage, in other unprocessed forms - $21 million) ranked second. However, during this month, exports of potatoes were $19.9 million, which ranked the third.

The "Export Review" also provides information on export orders received by the “Azexport.az” portal in January-May 2020.

Thus, in January-May 2020, the “Azexport.az” portal received export orders worth $273.9 million. During this period, the value of export orders received by the portal amounted to 64.7 million US dollars.

In May, the largest export orders to the portal “Azexport.az” were recorded for tomatoes, hazelnuts, liquorice root, tobacco, eggs, wheat flour, potatoes, jasmine, beets, cabbage, garlic, onions, wine, confectionery, metal construction, paint, tea, pomegranate concentrate, honey, cherries, fruit compote, and other goods.

It should be noted that from January 2017 to May 30, 2020 (for 41 months), the value of export orders received by the portal “Azexport.az” from 141 countries amounted to $1.9 billion.

In addition, the “Export Review” publicized the value of non-oil exports through the "Single Window" Export Support Center in June this year. According to the report, the value of non-oil exports through the "Single Window" amounted $23.7 million.

In January-June 2020, the “Single Window” Export Support Center issued relevant export certificates to hundreds of entrepreneurs, resulting in non-oil exports worth $70.3 million.

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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97