Georgia sells raw materials to a total of 4 countries: China, Bulgaria, Spain and the United Arab Emirates. Imports have also decreased - in January-April 2023, copper ores and concentrates worth $161.9 million were imported into Georgia, which is 35.5% less than the figure of $251.2 million in January-April 2022. Georgia's top trading partners by imports are Armenia, Indonesia and Chile.
Despite the decrease in the import and export value, the quantity has not decreased significantly. For example, compared to 2022, raw materials exported this year decreased by only 4.7 tons, although the total value decrease was much larger - 105.5 million USD. This may be related to the fact that world copper prices have been falling to a 6-month low in early June this year, driven by the German economy going into recession and the contraction of manufacturing activity in China in May.
The reason for expecting an increase in demand is the energy transition. According to Citigroup, investors will buy copper on a large scale over the next few years due to the increase in the use of electric vehicles and renewable energy.
To be informed, the price of the raw material reached a record high of $11,000 per ton in 2022, driven by the post-pandemic period and increased demand as a result of the war.