BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 19
Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced Georgia's economic dependence on other countries, including Russia, Trend reports via the Transparency International Georgia non-government organization.
"In 2019, Georgia received $1.6 billion in revenue from Russia through tourism, remittances and exports, which was 9 percent of Georgia's GDP. In 2020, Georgia received about $900 million from Russia through the same channels, which was about 5.7 percent of GDP," said the report.
In 2020, Georgia's economy depended on Russia mainly through foreign trade and remittances.
"Particularly high dependence was observed in the export of Georgian wine and the import of Russian wheat. Georgia is less dependent on Russian electricity and gas. Moreover, Russian investments in Georgia are small," said the report.
In recent years, exports of Georgian products to Russia have increased and in 2019 reached $497 million. The impact of the pandemic on exports to Russia has been significant, and in 2020 it decreased by 11.2 percent. However, due to the further decline in Georgia's total exports, Russia's share in Georgian exports slightly increased - from 13.1 percent to 13.2 percent.
In 2020, Georgian wine exports to Russia decreased by 10 percent and amounted to $120 million. Moreover, Russia's share in the total export of Georgian wine decreased slightly by 0.2 percentage points and amounted to 56.8 percent.
Compared to 2019, in 2020, imports from Russia to Georgia decreased by 9.2 percent, although since 2012, imports of Russian products have almost doubled to $900 million. Russia ranks second in Georgia's importers after Turkey.
Up to 70 percent of wheat consumed in Georgia comes from Russia. Compared to 2019, in 2020, wheat imports from Russia to Georgia increased by 18 percent.
Due to the pandemic, in 2020, the dependence of Georgia’s economy on tourism, including Russian tourists, reduced. In 2020, 208,677 Russian visitors came to Georgia, which is 86 percent less than in 2019. Before the pandemic, Georgia was most dependent on Russia through tourism. In 2019, Russian visitors spent about $700 million in Georgia. In 2020, this figure stood at $50 million.
In 2020, remittances from Russia to Georgia decreased by 15 percent to $364 million. In 2019, Russia's share in total remittances to Georgia was 24.8 percent, and in 2020 this figure fell to 19.3 percent. The decline in remittances from Russia began in 2019, as Europe has become more attractive to Georgian emigrants. In recent years, remittances from European countries have been on the rise.
In 2020, the share of electricity imported from Russia in total electricity consumption of Georgia was up to 4.5 percent. Some 65 percent of the electricity imported to Georgia came from Azerbaijan and Turkey. In 2020, the share of gas imported from Russia in Georgia’s total natural gas consumption was up to 7 percent.
Foreign direct investments from Russia have not been significant in recent years. In 2015-2019, the share of Russian investments in Georgia's total foreign investment averaged 3.4 percent. A total of $260 million was invested from Russia during this period.
Russia invested $20 million from January through September 2020, accounting for 2.7 percent of Georgia’s total foreign investments. However, about 38 percent of Georgia’s foreign investments come from offshore zones.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356