Russian LNG exports to southern neighbor surge

Supplies of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Georgia saw a year-on-year increase of 44.2% in the first seven months of 2023 compared to the same period a year ago, the Georgian Oil Product Importers Union reported on Monday.  

The volume of purchases of Russian LNG by Georgia totaled 31,500 tons compared to 21,840 tons in January-July, 2022. The Russian share of Georgian LNG imports amounted to 99.6%.   

The union also reported that imports of oil bitumen from Russia increased by 22.2% to 61,100 tons during the same period.   

Russia, Iran, and Türkiye were among the biggest exporters of bitumen to the Caucasus nation, accounting for 44.4%, 31.7%, and 21.4% of imports respectively. Georgia also purchases bitumen from Azerbaijan (2.3%) and Turkmenistan (0.2%).   

Separately, the National Statistics Office of Georgia (GeoStat) reported that trade turnover with Russia exceeded $1.5 billion in the first seven months of 2023, marking year-over-year growth of 24.7%.   

Exports to Russia amounted to about $416.2 million, up 26.2%, while imports rose 24.2% to about $1.08 billion. Russia is Georgia’s second biggest trade partner after Türkiye.   

GeoStat added that volumes of wine exports to Russia surged 35.9% year-on-year to more than 36,500 tons in the first seven months of 2023. In monetary terms, Georgian wine exports to Russia totaled $99.2 million.

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