Car import continues to decrease

/By AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

Car import from Georgia to Azerbaijan continues to fall - this trend has been observed since 2014 and decreased by 77.3 percent in 2015.

Some 1,071 cars worth a total of $19.82 million, were exported from the north-west neighbor to Azerbaijan in January-February, Georgian National Statistics Office reported.

The share of this category of goods in the total volume of Georgian export to Azerbaijan stood at 43.2 percent during the reporting period, GeoStat said, while Azerbaijan’s share in the export of this category of goods from Georgia equaled 48.8 percent.

The volume of car export to Azerbaijan decreased by 45.9 percent in terms of value and by 3,651 in terms of quantity compared to the first two months of 2014.

Expert believed in 2014 that the decrease might reach 20 percent in connection with the introduction of the Euro-4 ecological standard in Azerbaijan from April. However, last year saw a decrease of over 59 percent in cars import.

The Azerbaijani State Customs Committee has also reported that the import of cars has decreased since the beginning of the year, connecting it with the Euro-4 standard.

Economy expert Oqtay Haqverdiyev believes that both the manat’s devaluation and the eco standard influenced the decrease. He also noted that in this connection a slight price rise of 15-17 percent is expected on already imported cars.

The adoption of the Euro-4 standard significantly restricts the import of used cars, which account for the major part of vehicles exported from Georgia to Azerbaijan. Georgia itself receives the cars from abroad.

However, these cars are not always safe. The German Public Broadcaster has released information about a fraudulent net that brings unsafe vehicles from Germany to Georgia, the Georgian media reported.

The investigation showed that hundreds of cars that were cut in two after crashes in Germany were later brought to Georgia in containers, then reconstructed and sold as new cars. The average price of such a car in Georgia stands at $7,400.

Such cars are dangerous and not safe on the road, the German experts said.

Local experts in Azerbaijan also believe that wrecked cars have been refurbished in Georgia and then sold in Azerbaijan as new, thus deceiving customers. The safety of such cars is also doubtful.

The new environmental standard limits these cases. However, Customs Committee Chair, Aydin Aliyev said that some people still manage to bring cars that do not meet the standard as well as spare parts for such vehicles into the country and deal with their illicit sale.

The unsteady economic and financial situation in the region has manifested itself through a decrease in the people' spending power.

Azerbaijan has cut its goods imports from Georgia in these months by 38.4 percent, according to the Gruzstat.

In January-February, Azerbaijan accounted for 14.2 percent of Georgia’s export volume, which worth $45.9 million. The decrease was also marked in the overall Georgian export to Azerbaijan, falling by 38.4 percent vs. January-February 2014.