Azerbaijan's non-oil exports surge past $5 billion in January-May on gold sales

Azerbaijan's non-oil exports more than tripled in the first five months of 2026, surpassing $5 billion, as sales of non-monetary gold owned by the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) boosted the country's export earnings, according to data released by the State Customs Committee.

Non-oil exports, including non-monetary gold, rose 3.65-fold year-on-year to $5.1 billion between January and May, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

The sharp increase helped support Azerbaijan's overall export performance despite lower crude oil shipments. Total exports climbed 27% from a year earlier to $13.97 billion, while imports fell 31.6% to $6.82 billion.

As a result, the country's foreign trade surplus widened to $7.15 billion, nearly seven times higher than in the corresponding period of 2025.

Total foreign trade turnover amounted to $20.79 billion during the reporting period, down 0.85% year-on-year.

Crude oil remained Azerbaijan's largest export commodity, accounting for 36.66% of total exports. The country exported 8.83 million tonnes of oil worth $5.12 billion in January-May.

However, oil export volumes fell 14.8% from a year earlier, while the value of crude exports declined 9.24%, reflecting lower shipments despite continued strength in export revenues.

Exports of petroleum products moved in the opposite direction. Azerbaijan exported 410,646 tonnes of petroleum products worth $332.3 million during the first five months of the year.

Volumes rose 97.7% year-on-year, while export revenues increased 3.5-fold. Petroleum products accounted for 2.38% of total exports.

Russia remained the largest destination for Azerbaijan's non-oil exports, although shipments to the country edged down 2.1% year-on-year to $433.7 million.

Non-oil exports to Türkiye increased 21.8% to $306.2 million, while exports to Georgia surged 83.1% to $229.7 million. Shipments to Switzerland rose 39.7% to $178.8 million, customs data showed.

By Aghakazim Guliyev