Azerbaijan Intends to Reach Multi-Billion Non-Oil Trade Volume with EU

The government of Azerbaijan has revealed its plans to expand bilateral trade with the European Union (EU) countries to record-setting amounts during the upcoming four years.

Tural Hajili, an advisor to the chairman of the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of Azerbaijan – AZPROMO, said the ultimate goal is to increase non-oil trade turnover with the EU.

“Azerbaijan plans to increase its export to this market,” Hajili said on Monday.

“In this regard, the country prepared the relevant document the adoption of which is expected at the end of this month. Within the framework of this strategy, trade turnover is expected to grow by 86 percent to $5 billion by 2026,” he added.

The statement was made at the presentation of the digital trading platform of the European Union for the Eastern Partnership countries participating in Baku on Monday.

Hajili believes that the newly introduced platform will have an impact on Azerbaijan’s relevant efforts by providing Azerbaijani exporters with an additional and effective tool for realizing their untapped export potential. According to him, it will also mark the first step in the implementation of the measures identified in the national “Socio-economic Development Strategy for 2022-2026” and “Non-oil Products Export Strategy for 2022-2026.”

The EU remains Azerbaijan's main trading partner, accounting for around 36.7 percent of the Caspian country’s total trade. The EU positions itself as the biggest export market and second-biggest supplier for Azerbaijan, meaning it claims 51 percent of Azerbaijan's exports and 16 percent of Azerbaijan's imports.

The main imports of the EU from Azerbaijan include mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials. Food and live animals, chemicals and related products, and certain manufactured goods are also supplied to the EU markets from Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, machinery and transport equipment dominate the EU exports to Azerbaijan, along with chemicals and related products, manufactured goods and articles, and food and live animals.

Meanwhile, in Azerbaijan's exports to the EU, crude oil and natural gas undoubtedly ranks first. Azerbaijan has been supplying natural gas to Europe via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) since December 31, 2020. TAP forms a part of the three-segmented Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) mega pipeline, which traverses seven countries and six regulatory systems, links 11 different investors, and initially supplies 12 multiple gas buyers, primarily in Europe. The main source of natural gas for the SGC is Azerbaijan’s offshore Shah Deniz field, with estimated reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters.

Last year, the total Azerbaijani gas export was around 19 bcm, of which 8.2 bcm reached EU consumers, showing a 40 percent increase year-on-year. In 2022, the total export of natural gas from Azerbaijan is expected to reach 22 bcm, and EU countries will receive 11.5 bcm of it. Based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed by European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen and President Ilham Aliyev in July, the annual gas transportation to Europe will be doubled by 2027.