Strategically positioned at the confluence of southwestern Asia with southeastern Europe north of Iran and south of Russia, the Republic of Azerbaijan shipped US$33.9 billion worth of exported products around the globe in 2023.

That dollar amount results from a 72.6% increase from $19.6 billion 5 years earlier in 2019.

From 2022 to 2023, the overall value of Azerbaijani exported products fell by -11.1% compared to $38.1 billion.

Azerbaijan’s 3 most valuable export products are crude oil, petroleum gases and processed petroleum oils. Collectively, that trio of major energy products represent 90% of the total revenue paid for all Azerbaijani exports during 2023. Such a high percentage indicates an intensely concentrated portfolio of exports.

Azerbaijan’s Best Exports Customers

The latest available country-specific data shows that 88.8% of products exported from Azerbaijan was bought by importers in: Italy (44.9% of Azerbaijan’s total), Türkiye (15.8%), Israel (4.1%), Greece (4%), India (3.6%), Russia (3.5%), Germany (2.7%), Spain (2.3%), Georgia (2.2%), Czech Republic (2%), Romania (1.8%) and Croatia (1.7%).

From a continental perspective, 70.2% of Azerbaijani exports by value was delivered to European countries while 29.3% was sold to importers in Asia. Azerbaijan shipped another 0.3% worth of goods to Africa.

Tinier percentages went to buyers in Oceania (0.09%) mostly Australia, North America (0.05%) then Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (0.004%).

Given Azerbaijan’s population of 10.13 million people, its total $33.9 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $3,350 for every resident in the Middle Eastern country. That dollar metric lags the average $3,700 per capita one year earlier during 2022.

Azerbaijan’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Azerbaijani global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Azerbaijan.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: US$31 billion (91.5% of total exports)
2. Fruits, nuts: $513.5 million (1.5%)
3. Plastics, plastic articles: $460.8 million (1.4%)
4. Vegetables: $212.4 million (0.6%)
5. Aluminum: $195.2 million (0.6%)
6. Vehicles: $180 million (0.5%)
7. Gems, precious metals: $166.9 million (0.5%)
8. Cotton: $164 million (0.5%)
9. Organic chemicals: $91.5 million (0.3%)
10. Machinery including computers: $89.6 million (0.3%)

Azerbaijan’s top 10 export product categories generated 97.6% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Vehicles represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 321.5% from 2022 to 2023.

In second place for improving export sales was plastics, including both as materials and items made from plastic, via a 19.3% advance.

Azerbaijan’s shipments of machinery including computers posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 15.4%.

The leading decliner among Azerbaijan’s top 10 export categories was organic chemicals, dragged down by a -33.9% year-over-year drop.

At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, crude oil represents Azerbaijan’s most valuable exported product at 47.9% of the country’s total global sales. In second place were petroleum gases (40.3%) trailed by processed petroleum oils (1.7%), electrical energy (1.2%), propylene or olefin polymers (0.6%), miscellaneous fresh fruits (also 0.6%), cars (0.5%), unwrought gold (0.5%), fresh or chilled tomatoes (0.5%), then ethylene polymers (also 0.5%).

Products Behind Azerbaijan’s Best Trade Surpluses

Overall Azerbaijan achieved a US$23.6 billion trade surplus for 2023, expanding by 124.8% from the $10.5 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2022.

The following types of Azerbaijani product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: US$29 billion (Down by -14.6% since 2022)
2. Fruits, nuts: $361.6 million (Up by 20.7%)
3. Cotton: $156.2 million (Down by -24.4%)
4. Vegetables: $134.3 million (Up by 1.8%)
5. Gems, precious metals: $111 million (Down by -26.9%)
6. Aluminum: $55.6 million (Up by 18.6%)
7. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $40.7 million (Up by 109.6%)
8. Organic chemicals: $38 million (Down by -54.2%)
9. Ores, slag, ash: $18.4 million (Down by -27.4%)
10. Lead: $14.3 million (Up by 25.5%)

Azerbaijan has highly positive net exports in the international trade of crude oil and, to a lesser extent, petroleum gases and electrical energy. In turn, these cashflows indicate Azerbaijan’s strong competitive advantages under the mineral fuels-related category.

Products Causing Azerbaijan’s Worst Trade Deficits

Below are exports from Azerbaijan that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Azerbaijan’s goods trail Azerbaijani importer spending on foreign products.

1. Vehicles: -US$1.9 billion (Up by 42.4% since 2022)
2. Machinery including computers: -$1.8 billion (Up by 7.5%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.5 billion (Up by 39.1%)
4. Articles of iron or steel: -$584.1 million (Up by 7.2%)
5. Pharmaceuticals: -$546.1 million (Down by -16.1%)
6. Iron, steel: -$413.4 million (Up by 15.4%)
7. Cereals: -$389.7 million (Down by -24%)
8. Wood: -$384.6 million (Up by 1.1%)
9. Paper, paper items: -$266.1 million (Up by 6.2%)
10. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$262.3 million (Down by -0.6%)

Azerbaijan has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the product categories titled vehicles and machinery including computers.

Azerbaijani Export Companies

Not one Azerbaijani corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Azerbaijan. Selected examples are shown below.

• Akkord Industry Construction Investment Corp (construction materials)
• Azal Avia Cargo (cargo airline)
• AzMeCo (methanol)
• AzSamand (vehicles)
• Bahra Biscuit Factory (food)
• Ganja Auto Plant (vehicles)
• Gazelli Group (cosmetics)
• Inter Glass (glass products)
• Shollar water (beverages)
• SOCAR (oil, gas)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Azerbaijan’s total exported goods represent 21.1% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($180.9 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 21.1% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 13.8% one year earlier. Those percentages indicate a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Azerbaijan’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key economic indicator is a country’s jobless rate. The Azerbaijani unemployment rate averaged 5.456% for 2023, down from an average 5.646% in 2022.

Azerbaijan’s capital city is Baku, derived from Persian wording that translates to “Wind-pounded city”.

See also Italy’s Top Trading Partners, Turkey’s Top Trading Partners , Crude Oil Exports by Country and Sweet Cherries Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Country Profiles, The World Factbook. Accessed on November 8, 2024

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on November 8, 2024

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on November 8, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on November 8, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 8, 2024

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on November 8, 2024

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Azerbaijan. Accessed on November 8, 2024

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on November 8, 2024