Azerbaijan's non-oil and gas exports rose 13% year-on-year to $1.1bn in the first four months of 2026, according to the May edition of the Export Review published by the Centre for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication (CAERC), with gold, petrochemicals and satellite services posting gains while two SOCAR trading divisions recorded steep declines.

The divergence within the export base points to an uneven diversification picture: state-linked industrial producers and the gold sector are expanding, but SOCAR's downstream commercial arms appear to have sharply wound back non-oil trading activity compared with the same period last year.

Gold was the standout performer. Azerbaijan exported $131.1mn worth of gold in January–April, up 37.4% on the same period of 2025. State miner AzerGold accounted for $79.1mn of that total, a 15.6% increase, with the remainder attributable to other sources. In April alone, gold exports reached $35.9mn, up 18.9% year-on-year.

SOCAR Polymer, the 57%-owned petrochemicals subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), exported $90.3mn of product in the four-month period, up 9.5% or $7.8mn on the year-earlier figure.

Satellite operator Azerkosmos, which sits under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, exported $8.7mn in telecommunications services in January–April, a 55.4% increase year-on-year. April alone generated $4.6mn, up 190% on April 2025. Around 90 companies across 32 countries imported Azerkosmos services during the period, though the country count fell by eight compared with a year earlier. The top markets were the United Kingdom ($1.4mn), Luxembourg ($1mn), Turkey ($381,100), Pakistan ($370,000) and Sweden ($187,200). Export revenues as a share of Azerkosmos' total revenues slipped marginally, from 65% to 64%.

Against those gains, two SOCAR divisions posted significant year-on-year contractions in non-oil exports. SOCAR's Marketing and Economic Operations directorate exported $49mn of non-oil products in the four months, down $91mn or 65% on the same period of 2025. The Gas Export directorate reported $7.6mn, down $19.3mn or 71% year-on-year. Neither the CAERC review nor Report.az provided an explanation for the declines, which are material enough to warrant attention given SOCAR's central role in Azerbaijan's export accounts.