Azerbaijan's foreign trade turnover in January-August 2024 decreased by 14.93%, while the State Statistics Committee reports a 2.7% decline

According to the State Customs Committee, Azerbaijan's foreign trade turnover for the first eight months of 2024 amounted to $30.2 billion. Legal entities and individuals carried out trade operations with 172 countries. Of this total, exports amounted to $17.45 billion (57.8%) and imports to $12.76 billion (42.2%), resulting in a positive trade balance of $4.68 billion.

According to Turan estimates, Azerbaijan's overall foreign trade turnover decreased by 14.93% compared to the same period in 2023. In the same reporting period last year, trade turnover was 35.505%.

At the same time, the State Statistics Committee claims that foreign trade turnover decreased by only 2.7%.

According to the State Statistics Committee, the export of non-oil and gas products was estimated at $2.18 billion, which is 1.4% lower in nominal terms and 12.0% lower in real terms than in the previous year, reflecting ongoing challenges in economic diversification and reducing oil dependence.

Italy remained Azerbaijan's largest trading partner, accounting for 22.5% of total trade turnover, followed by Turkey (13.5%), Russia (9.5%), and China (7.4%). Other significant partners included Israel (4.5%), Germany (3.2%), and Australia (2.9%).

Italy also led as the top export destination, absorbing 36.3% of Azerbaijan's exports, followed by Turkey (14.6%) and Israel (7.6%). Meanwhile, the main sources of imports were China (17.8%), Russia (17.1%), and Turkey (11.8%).

Significant growth was observed in several export categories in the first eight months of 2024. Sugar exports increased by 46.2%, tobacco exports tripled, and vegetable oil exports rose by 2.8 times. Other notable increases included electricity exports (up 64.2%), polypropylene (25.6%), and polyethylene (21.9%). However, declines were observed in cotton yarn (down 2.5%) and ferrous metal rods (down 7.7%).

Azerbaijan’s imports also fluctuated: raw sugar imports decreased by 5.4%, fresh fruit imports dropped by 31.2%, and vegetable oil imports fell by 33.6%. Meanwhile, beef imports decreased significantly by 76.8%, and poultry meat imports dropped by 27.7%.

Despite the decline in several import categories, Azerbaijan continued to import essential goods such as wheat and vehicles. Wheat imports decreased by 13.2%, while car imports dropped by 13.0% in the January-August period.