Azerbaijan to Increase Exports to Russia by Year-End

Azerbaijan plans to increase its exports to Russia by the end of 2018, said the trade representative of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation Ruslan Aliyev.

“The bulk of the increase in exports will be for fruits and vegetables (persimmon, hazelnuts, tomatoes, potatoes), jet kerosene, cotton, aluminum and other goods,” Aliyev said.

He also noted that Russia plans to open new Azerbaijani wine houses. “Wine houses are to open in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Astrakhan and Yekaterinburg,” the Azerbaijani trade representative said.

From January to June 2018, Azerbaijan exported products to Russia for $349.23 million, which is 5.76% more than in the first half of 2017. The volume of imports from Russia, in turn, amounted to $788.21 million, which is 0.29% higher than the same period of the first six months of the previous year.

Russia is included in the list of Azerbaijan's five largest trading partners in January-June 2018, with a turnover of $1.14 billion (8.54% of the total turnover of the largest Transcaucasian republic). In addition to Russia, this list includes Italy with a turnover of $2.07 billion and a specific weight of 15.52%, Turkey - $ 1.41 billion (10.61%), Israel - $723 million (5.43%) and Germany - $665 million (4.99%).

By Dimitri Dolaberidze