Page 27 - GEORptJun22

5.1.1 Import/export dynamics
Georgia external trade turnover in Q1 at $5.2bn
Georgian exports increased by 26% y/y in March
Georgian external trade turnover amounted to $5.25bn in January-April 2022, posting a 33.4% increase y/y according to preliminary data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia.
Georgia's top trading partners by exports in January-April were China ($290.4mn), Azerbaijan ($168.4mn) and Russia ($156.4mn), while the top trading partners by imports were Turkey ($637.8mn), Russia ($403.3mn) and China ($324.3mn).
Copper ores and concentrates reclaimed the first place in the list of top export items, totalling $363mn, representing 22.9% of total exports. The exports of ferro-alloys totalled $195.4mn and their share in the total exports amounted to 12.3%. Motor cars exports occupied the third place, standing at $132mn and constituting 8.3% of the total exports.
The top import commodities in January-April were petroleum and petroleum oils worth $337.1mn (9.2% of the total imports). Motor cars followed in the list with $319.7mn (8.7% of imports). The copper ores and concentrates were third in the top import commodity list with $266mn (7.3%).
Georgian exports increased by 26.3% y/y in March, while PPI was up 19.3% y/y, brokerage Galt & Taggart reported.
In March, Georgia’s exports growth remained strong, growing by 26.3% y/y to $411.4mn, but slowed compared to the 60.3% y/y growth in the previous month. Imports growth also slowed to 15.3% y/y, after growing 54.0% y/y in the previous month. As a result, the trade deficit growth slowed also, up 7.4% y/y to $482.6mn, after a 49.6% y/y growth a month before.
Overall, in 1Q22, the trade deficit was up 30.3% y/y to $1.5bn, as exports increased by 43.3% y/y to $1.2bn, while imports were up by 35.7% y/y to $2.7bn.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Ukraine and Russia are Georgia's largest trading partners. In 2021, Ukraine ranked fifth among Georgia's top export destinations, while Russia was the country's second-largest trading
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