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Central Bank: Azerbaijan's non-oil exports increase by 20% excluding gold

04 November 2026 14:44 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan's non-oil exports increased by 20% excluding the gold factor, Chairman of the Central Bank Taleh Kazimov said while commenting on the country's economic indicators for the first nine months of 2026, APA reports.

Taleh Kazimov noted that excluding gold from import and export figures reveals growth dynamics in Azerbaijan's trade balance.

"Excluding the gold factor, non-oil exports increased by 20%, while total exports rose by 9.6%. Including gold, non-oil exports recorded growth of 3.4–3.5%."

The Central Bank Chairman said that supply appears to exceed demand in the cash foreign exchange market.

"Here, foreign exchange transactions by individuals are primarily analyzed. However, when looking at non-cash transactions, particularly foreign exchange transactions through bank accounts, demand decreased by only 3% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, supply, meaning foreign currency sales by customers, increased by 44%. Businesses and citizens are selling more foreign currency. It would not be correct to directly link this situation to economic growth. As for foreign currency loans, as you know, under the Central Bank's prudential requirements, loans in foreign currency may be issued only under certain conditions, including to entrepreneurs and business entities engaged in export activities."

The CBA Chairman considered the growth of the foreign currency loan portfolio during the corresponding period of 2026 to be normal. He stated that the increase was mainly driven by entrepreneurs engaged in export activities.

Commenting on banks' lending capacity, Taleh Kazimov noted that as of late September and early October, banks had AZN 4.6 billion in available funds while complying with the Central Bank's prudential requirements.

According to him, despite the availability of such funds that banks could allocate to lending, the fact that interest rates have not declined indicates that demand for loans is not high.

Taleh Kazimov also commented on the impact of the draft 2027 state budget on inflation. He stated that the inflationary impact of the budget's current expenditures is estimated at 0.38 percentage points, while the impact of capital expenditures on inflation is neutral.

Firuza Vahid

Azerbaijan Central Bank of Azerbaijan Taleh Kazimov non-oil exports gold foreign trade trade balance foreign exchange market currency transactions bank lending foreign currency loans interest rates 2027 state budget inflation