Page 21 - GEORptAug18

5.0 External Sector & Trade
5.1 Balance of payments, current account
Georgia - External Trade 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Jan-Jun* ‘18
External trade turnover ($ mn)
9,259 10,433 10,933 11,463 9,505 9,408 10,687 5,985.9
Export (FOB) ($ mn)
2,186 2,377 2,910 2,861 2,205 2,113 2,728 1,593.6
Import (CIF) ($ mn)
7,072 8,056 8,023 8,602 7,300 7,295 7,981 4,392.3
Balance ($ mn)
-4,886 -5,680 -5,112 -5,741 -5,096 -5,181 -5,253 -2,798.7
Export excluding re-export ($ mn)
1,693 1,606 1,812 1,873 1,637 1,657 2,063 1,148.5
Current account BPM6 ($ mn)
-1,842.2 -1,853.0 -934.7 -1,763.6 -1,684.3 -1,934.9 -1,311.1 /
Current account to GDP (%)
-12.8% -11.7% -5.8% -10.7% -12.2% -12.9% -8.8% /
Source: Geostat
5.1.1 Import/export dynamics
Georgia reports 24.3% growth in external merchandise trade in 1H18
Georgia’s external merchandise trade (excluding non-declared trade) grew by 24.3% to $5.99bn, state statistics agency Geostat said .
Exports grew faster than imports, rising by 28.5% to $1.59bn, while imports continued to outstrip exports, reaching $4.39bn, a 22.9% increase. This resulted in a negative trade balance of $2.80bn in the six month period, equivalent to 46.8% of total trade.
Exports excluding re-exports amounted to $1.15bn, up 16.3% y/y, Geostat added.
Within total trade, Georgia’s external trade turnover with EU countries reached $1.64bn, up 25.2% y/y. This included $367.8mn worth of exports (up 21.5%), and $1.28bn of imports (up 26.3%).
According to Geostat, EU countries now account for 27.5% of Georgia’s total external trade turnover — 23.1% of exports and 29.1% of imports, as compared to 27.3% of total external trade turnover, 24.4% of exports and 28.3% of imports in January-June 2017.
Meanwhile, external trade turnover with the CIS countries totalled $2.04bn, up 33.9% y/y. Exports reached $720.1mn (up 50.7%) and imports $1.32mn (up 26.2%). This put the share of the CIS countries Georgia’s external trade turnover at 34.0%, accounting for 45.2% of exports and 30.0% of imports (in January-June 2017, the figures were 31.6%, 38.5% and 29.2% respectively).
21 GEORGIA Country Report August 2018 www.intellinews.com