On November 8, Georgia received the European Commission's recommendation to grant the EU candidate status. The Council of Europe will take the final decision on granting the status on December 15. It was another historic day for Georgia on the path of European integration, as the many-year journey to the European family was shortened by another step. On this path, during the last decade, Georgia signed an association agreement in 2014, which in turn includes an agreement on deep and comprehensive free trade. Since 2017, visa-free travel between Georgia and EU countries has been launched.
How Does Georgia-EU trade and economic relations look in numbers for the last 10 years?
BMG considered trade and tourism data for 9 months of the current year, and investments and remittances in the period for 10 years.
Trade In Goods With the EU
After signing the DCFTA, Georgia-EU trade statistics have not changed much, although they have increased in recent years. In 2023, a record rate was recorded in the history of trade with the EU. During the first 9 months of the year, the exports-imports rate increased by 20% and exceeded USD 3 billion.
According to 9M2023, the rate of trade turnover with the European Union is as follows:
2014 - USD 2.104 billion;
2015 - USD 1.927 billion;
2016 - USD 1.834 billion;
2017 - USD 2.012 billion;
2018 - USD 2.335 billion;
2019 - USD 2.240 billion;
2020 - USD 1.820 billion;
2021 - USD 2.068 billion;
2022 - USD 2.738 billion;
2023 - USD 3.285 billion.
Imports
Imports occupy the main share in the trade turnover with the European Union. Imports from the EU have been increasing since 2014, after a slight decrease in 2020, the dynamics are still increasing.
During January-September of this year, Georgia spent USD 2 billion 720 million to buy goods in EU member states. This number increased by 27.8% annually. The main import goods from the European Union, as well as from many other countries, during this period were automobiles, followed by petroleum products.
TOP-10 Imported Goods
Motor Cars - USD 328 million;
Oil and oil products - USD 189.7 million;
Medicines - USD 175.4 million;
Tractors - USD 84.7 million;
Telephones - USD 82.6 million;
Trucks - USD 74 million;
Computing machines and their blocks - SUD 40.5 million;
Mixtures used in the production of beverages - USD 40.3 million;
Tools and equipment for medical use - USD 37 million;
Cosmetics - USD 30.9 million.
Tourism
The dynamics of the recovery of tourism from EU countries in the post-pandemic period are not so favorable. According to the data of the National Tourism Administration, the number of international visits from the EU stood at 484,996 in 2019 , while in 2022 the figure was 36.8% less than the figure of the pre-pandemic period.
The number of visits from EU member states by year is as follows:
2019 - 484,996 visits;
2020 - 70,742 visits;
2021 - 139,157 visits;
2022 - 272,916 visits;
TOP-5 Countries By Tourist Visits:
Poland - 73,129 international visits; the increase is 4.6% compared to 2019;
Germany - 54,332 international visits; the decrease is 24.6% compared to 2019;
France - 18,771 international visits; a decrease compared to 2019 - 16.9%;
Latvia - 17,319 international visits; compared to 2019, the increase is 8%;
Greece - 16,493 international visits; compared to 2019, the increase is 3.4%.
Investments
In the last 10 years, the rate of investment inflow from the EU has been variable. During this period, the smallest amount was invested in the country's economy in 2020, which amounted to USD 338 million 679 thousand. In 2022, a total of USD 963 million 391 thousand came into the economy of Georgia from EU countries. The largest flow of investments from the EU member states was USD 360 million 471 thousand from Spain, USD 196 million 154 thousand - from the Netherlands, and USD 120 million 555 thousand came from Ireland.
Money Transfers
Over the past 10 years, the trend of remittances from EU member states to Georgia has been increasing. In this regard, a sharp decline was observed in the first half of 2020, which was gradually recovered later. In total, over 10 years, remittances of USD 6 billion 427 million were transferred to the country from the EU. The TOP countries were Italy ($2.432 billion), Greece ($1.814 billion), Germany ($724 million).
