BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 19. Azerbaijani food imports increased in value terms by 0.14 percent ($1.4 million) and amounted to $1 billion from January through June 2023, Trend reports.
According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the country imported 21,390 tons of meat worth $40.4 million, 6,080 tons of milk - $12.9 million, 8,500 tons of dairy products - $47 million, 188,590 tons of vegetables and fruits - $122.4 million, 6,150 tons of tea - more $32.7 million during the reporting period of 2023.
Azerbaijan also imported more than 585,970 tons of wheat, corn and rice worth over $195.5 million.
The import of vegetable fats and oils amounted to 65,420 tons, worth more than $89 million.
Azerbaijan increased the import of tobacco and tobacco products by 40.91 percent compared to the period from January through June 2022 – up to $57 million during this period.
Imports of pharmaceutical industry products increased in quantitative terms by 5.15 percent to 16,240 tons compared to the same period in 2022, while in value terms decreased by 2.43 percent, amounting to $322.2 million.
Azerbaijan's foreign trade turnover increased by 5.36 percent, or $1.3 billion, during the period from January through June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 - from $24.8 billion to $26.1 billion.
According to the State Customs Committee, exports accounted for $17.9 billion in the structure of foreign trade turnover, which is $511.2 million (2.77 percent) less in comparison with the same period last year. The share of exports in foreign trade turnover amounted to 68.66 percent against 74.4 percent a year earlier.
Azerbaijan's imports increased by $1.8 billion (28.97 percent) from $6.3 billion to about $8.1 billion during the reporting period. The share of imports in foreign trade turnover was 31.34 percent against 25.6 percent a year earlier.
As a result, the balance of foreign trade turnover, while remaining positive, decreased year-on-year by more than $2.3 billion (19.41 percent) to $9.7 billion during the reporting period of 2023 against $12.1 billion in the same period of 2022.