Georgia’s National Statistics Office (Geostat) has said the country’s foreign trade performance in the first four months of 2026 showed strong growth, with total exports increasing by 21.1% year-on-year to $2.4 billion, while local exports reached a record $1.5 billion.
The office said in an emailed statement that there was a sharp decline in the re-export of passenger cars, which fell by $217 million, or 29%, to $537 million.
At the same time, petroleum product exports surged by an extraordinary 922%, driven by the launch of operations at Georgia’s first full-scale oil refinery, Black Sea Petroleum. Overall, Georgia exported $324 million worth of petroleum products between January and April.
Exports of precious metal ores and concentrates ranked third, reaching $225 million, up 134% year-on-year. The country also recorded higher exports of ferroalloys, copper ores, wine, mineral water, carbonated soft drinks and lemonades, hazelnuts, and other goods, while exports of alcoholic beverages declined.
Geostat has shared a breakdown of Georgia’s exports between January–April:
- Passenger cars: $537.4 million (-29%)
- Oil and petroleum products: $324.1 million (+922%)
- Precious metal ores and concentrates: $225.1 million (+134%)
- Ferroalloys: $94.6 million (+92%)
- Copper ores and concentrates: $80.1 million (+119%)
- Alcoholic beverages: $75.9 million (-1%)
- Natural grape wines: $73.5 million (+2%)
- Mineral and fresh waters, without added sugar: $63.9 million (+10%)
- Carbonated soft drinks containing sugar: $61.0 million (+39%)
- Hazelnuts and other nuts: $59.7 million (+58%)
Local exports reached a historic high during the first four months of the year. Revenue generated from the export of domestically produced goods totaled $1.551 billion, marking a 73.5% annual increase and surpassing the previous four-month record of $1.2 billion set in 2022.
As a result, the share of local exports in Georgia’s total exports rose to 63.6% — the highest level ever recorded for this period. The sharp increase was largely fueled by the start of domestic oil and petroleum product processing and subsequent exports, with petroleum products accounting for roughly one-fifth of total local exports in January–April.
Among the top 10 export categories, shipments increased across all major products except alcoholic beverages, which saw declining sales.
China — a country with which the government is seeking closer economic and political ties — emerged as Georgia’s largest export destination during the reporting period, accounting for a significant share of local exports as shipments of copper and precious metal ores to the Chinese market expanded considerably. The top 10 export partner countries together accounted for 69% of Georgia’s total local exports.
China, Russia, and Turkey led the way as the top three destinations for local exports.
However, former National Bank head and economist Roman Gotsiridze tells OC Media that the indicators were blurry and unclear, and mostly showed that Georgia’s record local export growth was driven by the export of Russian petroleum products.
‘There is Togo in the list, which is the African country that does not need unfinished semi-processed diesel products’, he said. ‘This means exporting Russian petroleum products by circumventing sanctions’.
Helena Bedwell
