Georgia almost doubled exports to Russia in 2017

Georgia almost doubled exports to Russia in 2017
/ Geostat
By bne IntelliNews July 17, 2018

Georgia reported a dramatic hike in exports to Russia in 2017 compared to the previous year. Data released by the state statistics office Geostat shows that the value of Georgian exports to regional giant Russia rose from $206.0mn in 2016 to $396.7mn in 2017. 

Despite the hostile relations between Tbilisi and Moscow — the two countries went to war in 2008 over the Russian-backed separatist region of South Ossetia — bilateral trade remains strong. 

Russia was already the top destination for Georgian exports in 2016, but its share of total exports rose sharply from 9.8% in 2016 to 14.5% last year, Geostat data shows. 

bne IntelliNews columnist Emil Avdaliani called the emergence of Russia and Georgia’s top trading partner an “interesting development”. 

“[W]hile tensions between the countries are high and the 10th anniversary of the Russo-Georgian military conflict is imminent, Moscow and Tbilisi, in fact, continue to enjoy a pretty intensive economic relationship,” Avdaliani wrote in a recent column for bne IntelliNews

“Although the majority in Georgia regard Russia negatively, its geographic proximity to Georgia forces the country into economic relations.” This includes efforts to facilitate trade via another Georgian separatist republic, Abkhazia, through which runs a key route from Tbilisi to the Russian border. 

Aside from Russia, Georgia’s other top export markets were Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia and China. The list does not yet include any EU markets despite Tbilisi’s efforts to integrate with the bloc, as stressed by newly appointed Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze. Indeed, only two EU countries — Bulgaria and Romania — are among Georgia’s top 10 export markets. 

Turkey remains the preeminent source of imports to Georgia, accounting for 17.3% of the total, with a value of $1.37bn in 2017. This represents an increase from the $1.35bn worth of Turkish imports the previous year, though Turkey’s share of total imports fell slightly from 18.6% in 2016. 

Russia is Georgia’s second main source of imports, exporting $796.7mn worth of products to the South Caucasian country, followed by China, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Germany. 

Data

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