"Government playing with numbers." Comment from an economist from Baku
Difference in statistics between Georgia and Azerbaijan
According to the Georgian statistical agency, in 2023, goods worth $862 million were exported from this country to Azerbaijan. However, the Azerbaijani state customs committee asserts that only $126 million worth of goods were imported from Georgia. This discrepancy emerged after, according to Georgian data, Azerbaijan had a negative trade balance with Georgia for the first time. “The government saw it as embarrassing, hard to explain, started playing with the numbers, and called it ‘new methodology‘,” stated Azerbaijani economist Natik Jafarli.
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Expert comment
“Official data from our neighbor revealed that in 2023, Azerbaijan received more goods from Georgia than it sold to them. The Azerbaijani customs committee reported that we exported $759 million worth of goods to Georgia that year.
However, Georgian statistical and customs agencies officially declared sales of $862 million to Azerbaijan. Therefore, even though Azerbaijan exports oil and gas to Georgia, it ended the year with an unprecedented negative trade balance of $103 million with this country,” noted Natik Jafarli, an Azerbaijani economist and one of the leaders of the opposition party “Republican Alternative.”
“The government found this embarrassing and hard to explain, so they started playing with the figures, dubbing it a ‘new methodology.’ Azerbaijani authorities formally stated that in 2023, only $126 million worth of goods were imported from Georgia, artificially adjusting the trade balance to appear positive.
Most of Georgia’s exports to Azerbaijan consist of cars. Official Tbilisi announced that it sold 22,393 cars to Azerbaijan in 2023, amounting to $437 million. However, our officials claim that only 132 cars were purchased in Georgia in 2023, amounting to $11.5 million.
Well, why have Azerbaijani official structures, under the guise of changing “methodology,” reduced the number of cars bought in Georgia and accordingly the amount spent on them? As I’ve said, it’s embarrassing that oil-rich Azerbaijan ended up with a negative trade balance with Georgia. And what does this new “methodology” entail?
Georgia does not manufacture cars; the vehicles purchased there were made in countries like Germany, Japan, Korea, the USA, etc. It turns out that the state customs are keeping statistics based on the country of manufacture?! Marking them as imports from these countries?! If so, this is absurd, then it’s impossible to get accurate figures.
Then let them go even further. For example, if a car purchased in Georgia has a European-made engine and Australian glass, then let the cars be listed on paper by parts,” wrote Jafarli on his social media page.
What does Georgian statistics say?
According to preliminary data from the National statistics service, in 2023, the share of the ten largest partner countries in Georgia’s total export volume accounted for 80.3 percent. Azerbaijan ranks first among the largest countries to which Georgia exported, with a volume of $862.1 million. Armenia is in second place with $787.1 million, and Kazakhstan is third with $703.0 million.
In 2023, Georgia exported 22,393 cars to Azerbaijan, amounting to $437.233 million. This is stated in the data on statistics presented by the Georgian national statistics office, writes APA.
It was noted that last year the total cost of cars imported into Azerbaijan increased by $128.72 million or by 41.72 percent compared to the previous year, while the number decreased by 8,059 units or by 26.46 percent.
Azerbaijan accounted for 20.5 percent of Georgian car exports.
Statistical data from Azerbaijan
In 2023, Azerbaijan increased its import of cars from Georgia, according to data from the country’s State statistics committee.
During the reported period, 132 cars were imported from Georgia, 3.6 times more than the previous year.
$11.545 million was spent on purchasing cars in Georgia, writes the website banker.az.
