Kazakh foreign trade surplus plummets over 60% to $11.2bn in Jan-Aug

By bne IntelliNews October 27, 2015

Kazakhstan’s foreign trade surplus shrank drastically to $11.2bn in January-August, the State Statistics Committee has informed. In the same period of the previous year, trade surplus stood at $28.4bn. The main reason for such a huge decrease is a decline in the price of oil, the main commodity exported by Kazakhstan, which generated around two-thirds of the country’s total export revenues last year.

According to the data, exports slumped by 41.8% y/y to $32bn while imports went down by 21.8% y/y to $20.8bn.

Despite these changes, the structure of the foreign trade partners remained unchanged. Kazakhstan exports mainly to Italy (a 18% share in total exports). Then comes China with 11.9% share, Netherlands (11.5%), Russia (9.6%) and France (5.9%). Interestingly, the share of Russia increased from around 6% last year. This is a result of a change in the structure of exports – Russia does not import oil from Kazakhstan, which is cheap now, but it mainly purchases machinery and chemical products.

Imports to Kazakhstan came traditionally from Russia (a 33.7% share in total imports), China (17.2%), Germany (6.1%), the USA (4.8%) and Italy (3.8%).

The low price of oil is projected for the next two years which means that Kazakhstan’s foreign trade surplus will continue to shrink at least until the end of the year. 

Read in IntelliNews Pro
Get IntelliNews Pro

Related Articles

Uzbekistan’s key rate held at 14% as central bank points to fears over reacceleration of inflation

Uzbekistan's central bank on April 25 kept its benchmark interest rate on hold at 14%, pointing to risks that inflation could once more accelerate. Planned hikes of state-regulated prices for ... more

Ukraine's DTEK seeks $350mn to restore energy capacity after Russian attacks

Ukraine's leading private energy company, DTEK, has sounded the alarm, indicating an urgent need for $350mn to recuperate lost capacity resulting from Russia's relentless assaults on thermal power ... more

Kazakhstan can expect GDP growth of 3.1% this year and 5.6% next, says IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects real GDP growth of 3.1% this year and 5.6% in 2025 for Kazakhstan in its newly released ... more

Follow Us On

Most Read

  1. Ukraine's birth rate plummets to 300-year low as country’s population collapses
    8 days ago
  2. EU finally boosts defence investment into arms production as Ukraine runs out of ammo
    1 month ago
  3. Don't mention the "D" word - Ukraine
    6 days ago
  4. The 'wet-bulb' set to kill hundreds of thousands of people if temperatures and humidity levels continue to rise
    3 days ago
  5. Europe unlikely to tackle Russian LNG imports anytime soon
    3 days ago
  1. Russia could pay off its entire external debt tomorrow, in cash
    26 days ago
  2. Speculation swirls of “Men in Blue” in Crocus City Hall terrorist attack linked to FSB
    1 month ago
  3. Albanians campaign on social media to keep bus bridge created in freak accident
    1 year ago
  4. BRICS announce a blockchain-based payment system to create a common currency
    29 days ago
  5. Saudi Arabia to scale back plans for Neom city
    16 days ago

Reports

Dismiss