General economic situation (First quarter of 2010)

In January-March 2010, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Azerbaijan increased 5.4% as compared to the same period of 2009 and made up 9.6bln manat. The amount of the GDP per capita composed AZN 1074.5 ($1337.6), an increase of 4.2% compared to the same period of 2009. The rate of economic growth was 1.3% higher as compared to the same period of the last year. 

The increase in the rates of economic growth can be explained not only through the growth of rates in the industry, but also in cargo transportations, communications. The growth rate was observed in the industry - 7.8%, transportation - 2%, communication services - 19.5%.

The amount of the production in all spheres of the economy increased 5.7% and made up 68.1% of the GDP where 59.5% (AZN 5.68bln) fell on industry. The specific weight of the service sector in the GDP made up 25.7%, increasing 5.1%.

Source: State Statistics Committee

In January-March 2010 the amount of industrial production in Azerbaijan composed AZN 7141.1mln, which is 5.6% more than January-March 2009.

The amount of production in the extractive industry reached AZN 5.5bln (77.5% of the gross industrial production), increasing by 8.0% as compared to the same period of the last year. The specific weight of processing industry was 15.5 percent, electricity, gas and water sectors accounted for 5.7 percent.

Growth in the agrarian production because of State care for the farmers was 1.5% in January-March 2010.

The growth was observed in export operations, but reduction in import operations. Azerbaijani export increased by 81.65% to $4509.3mln, but import declined by 12.16% to $1158.4mln, and the black ink reached $3350.8mln. Nearly 91.33% of the export operations fell on oil and oil products.

Nearly AZN 1636.8mln was invested in the economy of Azerbaijan in January-March 2010, an increase of 4.9% more than the figures of the last year. In particular, in March 2010 AZN 560.1mln was invested in the economy of Azerbaijan, which is 4.8% higher than last year.

In January-March 2010, the growth in the amount of retail commodity turnover and commercial services to the population was 8.9% and totaled AZN 4142.1 million in the annual calculation. In particular, 75.1% accounted for retail trade and 24.9% - paid services.

In January-March 2010, the prices of the consumer goods and tariffs on the services increased 1.3% compared with the previous month, but rose 3.8% in January-March 2010 compared to the same period of the last year. In March, the prices for foodstuffs increased 2.4%, non-foodstuffs declined 0.1% and the services decreased 0.3%. Compared with the first quarter of 2009, food prices grew by 2.5%, non-food products - 1.6% and tariffs in the service sector - 8.5%.

In January-March 2010, the nominal income of the population totaled AZN 5183.8mln, which is 6.5% more compared to 2009. During this period, the nominal income per capita made up AZN 583.1, which exceeds the figure in 2009 by 5.2%. The rise in salaries in various spheres of economy and rise in social benefits also contributed to growth in population income.

In 2010 the Central Bank of Azerbaijan continues the policy of maintaining the stable exchange rate of manat, which during the crisis made the main anchor of economic stability, unlike national currencies of other countries. In the post-crisis period, to accelerate economic development and eliminate the consequences of the crisis, the country will also need stable manat. For the first quarter of 2010, the rate of manat in relevant to the USD reduced by 0.06 percent.

In March the rate of manat in relevant to the USD composed 0.80 manat, Euro - 1.09 manat, Russian ruble - 2.72 manat for 100 rubles.