BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21. Exports from Azerbaijan more than doubled in May compared to a year ago, largely driven by energy exports, which expanded substantially both in terms of volume and prices, Trend reports with reference to the World Bank.
Reportedly, in May, the export price of natural gas climbed to USD 816.6, the highest on record. Non-energy sector exports increased by 10 percent (yoy). In contrast, imports expanded by 26.7 percent in May, in line with strengthening domestic demand, bringing cumulative import growth for the first five months of the year to 17 percent. The trade surplus rose to 34.4 percent of GDP during January-May, double that of the same period of 2021. Remittances continued to surge in May, rising by 3.6 times (yoy) largely due to inflows from Russia.
WB experts note that economic activity remained strong in May, growing at 7.2 percent.
“This was supported by a 2.7 percent (yoy) expansion in energy sectors and 9.6 percent (yoy) growth in non-energy sectors. The expansion in non-energy sectors was driven by non-oil/gas manufacturing (up 18.9 percent, yoy), ICT (up 14.8 percent), transport (up 33.2 percent), and hospitality (up 78.4 percent). Meanwhile, agriculture sector growth moderated to 2.8 percent in May from the 4.0 the percent (yoy) recorded in April. The construction sector shrunk by 18 percent (yoy) after recording strong growth in April (23 percent, yoy). On the demand side, investment picked up by 3.6 percent (yoy) in May, largely driven by non-energy sectors (up by 5.3 percent yoy), while investment in energy sectors continued to fall,” reads the report.