“In recent years, significant steps have been taken to diversify foreign trade, which has changed the export structure. The EU market has substantially replaced the CIS market in terms of export. In January-July, the share of the EU market in Georgian exports reached 22.3% while the volume of the export to the EU is increased by 20.2%,” – Ekaterine Mikabadze, the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development stated.
According to the data published by the National Statistics Office of Georgia, in July 2018, compared to the previous year, the high export growth was recorded and reached 31%. Export volume reached 278.5 million USD. In July 2018, the import was also increased by 21.8% and amounted to 781.8 million USD.
The export index is also increased in January-July 2018. It has been increased by 28.8% and equaled to 1871.0 million USD. The import volume, compared to the previous year, is also increased in January-July by 22.9% and amounted to 5180.8 million USD. Total foreign trade turnover equals to 7051.8 million USD, which is by 24.4% higher number compared to the data of 2017.
Ekaterine Mikabadze said that export growth, together with the other factors, was preconditioned by the increased foreign demand for goods exported from Georgia. The Deputy Minister noted, the largest Georgian export groups include copper ores and concentrates (by 13.2%), passenger cars (by 98.4%), nitrogenous fertilizers (by 42.1%), wines (by 25.7%) and alcoholic beverages (by 23.6%).
“The Government of Georgia is actively working to further increase and diversify export. Successful negotiations on Free Trade Agreements support the expansion of the markets for Georgian products and create additional prospects for export growth,” – Ekaterine Mikabadze, the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development stated.
