Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 25
By Eldar Janashvili - Trend:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has published a report on the development of the economy of Azerbaijan for the first half of 2019, Trend reports referring to the bank.
According to ADB, Azerbaijani industry grew by 1.8 percent along with a growth in mining industry by 1.6 percent and in oil refining by 13.5 percent, despite oil production having dropped by 3 percent due to the closure of a largest oil platform for maintenance.
Gas production increased by a record 35 percent due to the full commissioning of the Shahdeniz gas field.
Construction dropped by 11.2 percent due to a slowdown in investment. Services grew by 3.0 percent, transport by 2.5 percent, retail trade by 2.8 percent, and tourism and recreation by 3.3 percent. Good weather created favorable conditions for crop production and stimulated agricultural growth by 13.1 percent.
As the minimum wage, pensions and family income increased, private consumption in Azerbaijan grew by 2.4 percent year on year. Public consumption increased as the government increased spending by 15 percent, primarily on social programs.
Food prices increased by 2.7 percent, while prices for other goods increased by 1.3 percent and prices for services increased by 3.2 percent.
Despite the rise in the gas production, oil exports fell by 3.7 percent, because of which the commodity trade surplus on an annualized basis halved to $2.4 billion. Overall, exports rose slightly by 0.1 percent, while imports spiked by 51.3 percent, mainly due to the import of food, machinery and equipment.
----
Follow the author on Twitter: @eldarjanashvili