USD 1.5 billion trade deficit for January–April
By M. Alkhazashvili
Monday, June 2
Georgia’s imports were valued at USD 1.5 billion more than its exports in the first four months of this year, according to the state Statistics Department.
The total trade turnover during this period was around USD 2.5 billion, 41.5 percent higher than the same period last year, the newspaper Rezonansi reports.
Since Russia enforced a blanket trade embargo in 2006, Turkey has become Georgia’s biggest trade and Georgian exports there reached USD 65 million in the first four months of 2008. Scrap metal remains a significant Georgian export, accounting for around 15 percent of exports to Turkey.
Georgian wine and mineral water companies have suffered under the Russian embargo, and while the Russian market for these exports is yet to be matched elsewhere, Georgian companies have upped sales in some places.
One of the country’s biggest wine producers, Teliani Valley, said it will soon be exporting 200 000 bottles per year to the Baltic states.
The total trade turnover during this period was around USD 2.5 billion, 41.5 percent higher than the same period last year, the newspaper Rezonansi reports.
Since Russia enforced a blanket trade embargo in 2006, Turkey has become Georgia’s biggest trade and Georgian exports there reached USD 65 million in the first four months of 2008. Scrap metal remains a significant Georgian export, accounting for around 15 percent of exports to Turkey.
Georgian wine and mineral water companies have suffered under the Russian embargo, and while the Russian market for these exports is yet to be matched elsewhere, Georgian companies have upped sales in some places.
One of the country’s biggest wine producers, Teliani Valley, said it will soon be exporting 200 000 bottles per year to the Baltic states.