Lasha Kavtaradze, economist at Galt&Taggart declares, that high base effect of last year caused the decrease in external trade observed in March.
"In March, we had a decrease in both exports and imports. This is mainly explained by the fact that the base effect was high in the same period last year. However, if we look at the volumes in nominal terms, the indicators are quite high.
This year, imports have decreased more than exports, and we have improved our trade deficit. If we compare the first quarters of 2023 and 2024, we have an improvement in total. This means that less foreign currency has left us this year compared to the last year. In fact, we can say that this is even a saving if we look at it differently," said Lasha Kavtaradze.
The analyst believes that the decrease in car imports will have an impact on exporting figures in the coming months.
"In March, the decrease in imports was caused by cars, which we think will have a slight impact on the exports of cars in the coming months," says Kavtaradze.
Last week, Geostat published the foreign trade report for the first quarter of 2024, according to which Georgia's exports amounted to USD 1.3 billion, which was 9% less than the previous year.
As for cars, in January-March 2024, the imports of cars in Georgia decreased by 31.3%, while the exports increased by 7.8%.
