Foreign trade turnover rose by 15.6% from USD 3.1 billion, reaching USD 3.6 billion in January-February of the current year as compared to the same period last year. However, turnover actually declined by 1.1% when excluding one-time factors such as the imports of paintings and sculptures. The situation worsened in February, with decreases in both exports – including domestic exports – and imports.
Whilst exports rose by 10.3% in January, they declined by 7% in February, resulting in an overall 4% growth over the two-month period. Kyrgyzstan remained the top export partner in January-February 2025, similar to 2024, with exports totalling USD 167 million and accounting for 19.9% of total exports. Kazakhstan followed in second place with USD 101 million. The rest of the top ten export destinations included Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, Turkey, China, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan and Switzerland.
Whilst Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan saw sharp rises of 33% and 19%, respectively, in exports from Georgia, exports to Russia dropped by 26%, Armenia by 13%, Turkey by 27% and China, a strategic partner, by 22%. Despite Bulgaria recording a surge constituting 640%, this was due to the base effect (exports of precious metals and copper ores reached USD 28 million in the first two months of 2025 as compared to USD 3.9 million in the same period of 2024) and the country ranked only eighth amongst Georgia’s top export destinations.
Graph 1: Exports of Georgia (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Passenger cars remain the top export product, accounting for over 34% of total exports, whilst precious metals rank second with a 4.7% share. Notably, 89% of Kyrgyzstan’s imports from Georgia – USD 149 million out of USD 167 million – consist of passenger cars. Similarly, passenger cars comprise a large share of Georgia’s exports to Kazakhstan – specifically, 84%.
Spirituous beverages rank third in exports amongst commodity groups, whereas wine holds the fourth position. Exports of alcoholic beverages declines by 16% and wine exports fell by 38%, including a substantial 44% drop in February. In contrast, exports of mineral waters, nitrogen fertilisers, gold and nuts increased. Ferroalloy exports declined significantly by 61%, pushing this commodity down to tenth place in total exports.
Domestic exports fell by 1.3% over the two-month period and by 10.8% in just February. Whilst Russia ranks fifth in total exports with an 8.4% share, it remains the top destination for domestic exports, accounting for 17.3%. Turkey follows in second place with a 10.4% share whilst China ranks third at 8.7%. Domestic exports to all three destinations declined by more than 20% as compared to the same period last year.
Wine exports to Russia in January-February 2024 totalled USD 36 million, dropping to USD 16 million in the same period of 2025. Meanwhile, wine sales outside Russia rose from USD 11 million to USD 13 million. The aforementioned decline is likely linked to Russia’s increase of excise tax, which took effect in May 2024, raising the rate from RUB 34 to RUB 108 per litre, equivalent to an increase of approximately GEL 1 to GEL 3. When analysing last year’s data, total wine exports to Russia amounted to USD 183 million with an uneven monthly distribution: USD 100 million was exported in January-April, whilst the remaining USD 83 million was spread over May-December. Stockpiling led to an average monthly export of USD 25 million during the first four months of 2024, which later dropped to USD 10 million, suggesting that the decline was largely due to the base effect. Wine exports to Russia were more evenly distributed throughout the year in previous years. Notably, a drastic 55% decline in early 2025 would likely not have occurred had the aforementioned pattern continued in 2024.
The decline in exports to Turkey was primarily due to a drop in ferroalloy exports which fell from USD 19 million to USD 4 million over the two months. Additionally, exports of precious metal ores to China decreased from USD 35 million to USD 24 million.
The share of re-exports in total exports surpassed 50% for the first time in 2023 with domestic exports declining and re-exports increasing – a trend that persisted in January-February 2025. Although re-exports are still profitable on their own, domestic exports are considered more significant from an economic standpoint.
Graph 2: Structure of Exports (USD Million
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Imports grew by 19.6% over the two-month period; however, they actually declined by 2.9% when excluding one-off factors. Whilst the United States formally ranked first in imports with USD 478 million, nearly half of this – USD 228 million – was attributed to paintings. Russia would rank first with USD 344 million in imports, when excluding paintings. Turkey, which typically leads both in imports and overall trade, fell to third place after a 17% decline, as of January-February. Imports of pharmaceutical products from Turkey fell significantly from USD 44 million to USD 24 million in the aforementioned period. The rest of the top ten import partners included the United Kingdom, China, Germany, Azerbaijan, Japan, Italy and Bulgaria.
Graph 3: Imports[1] (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Paintings lead imports – once again, considering one-time factors – with USD 481 million (an increase of 535,000%), followed by passenger cars at USD 327 million (a 16.5% decrease), amongst commodity groups. Imports of petroleum products rose by 8%, reaching USD 202 million, whilst natural gas imports increased by 14.3% to USD 145 million.
Given that the total import value of paintings and sculptures from 2013 to 2024 was only USD 9 million and in January 2025 alone it exceeded USD 500 million, these figures are clearly one-off factors. Foreign trade turnover would show a decrease of 1% when excluding them. Whilst a 1% decline is not substantial, the decline for February alone reaches 7%, with domestic exports falling even more sharply, by over 10%. Although two months is a brief period for a comprehensive analysis, the available data already indicates signs of a negative trend. Due to the limited time frame and the small percentage correction, it is difficult to determine whether the decline will persist in the coming months.
