Azerbaijan blames spike in imports on surge in non-monetary gold

Azerbaijan’s imports rose by $2.67 billion, or 48.8%, in the first four months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, mainly due to a sharp increase in non-monetary gold imports, the State Customs Committee said.

Between January and April, Azerbaijan imported $2.53 billion worth of non-monetary gold — an 8.6-fold increase year-on-year.

Excluding non-monetary gold, total imports stood at $5.6 billion, up 8.4% from a year earlier, while the country’s foreign trade surplus reached $3.18 billion, an increase of 6.1%.