Full Report - Subregional Office for East and North-East Asia - escap

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SURVEY OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 2013
In addition, various innovative policy measures
have been taken to address local and global
challenges to environmental sustainability and
mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. All countries
in the subregion promote sustainable transport,
sustainable consumption and production, the
greening of industry, expansion of green space and
enhanced energy efficiency. Still, policy coherence
will remain a particular challenge to make such
measures more effective and efficient.
NORTH AND CENTRAL ASIA
Growth slows across the subregion
Growth in the North and Central Asian subregion
as a whole slowed to 3.9% in 2012 from 4.8% in
2011 (see table 2.2). Most of the countries in the
subregion are commodity exporters, and a larger
group among those consists of energy exporters.
These economies have strong economic linkages
and energy-importing economies rely heavily on
workers’ remittances from the Russian Federation
and to a lesser extent from Kazakhstan. Some
softening of high oil and gas prices contributed to
somewhat lower growth rates in 2012 compared
with that of the previous year.
The subregion as a whole has become
more exposed to commodity-related
risks than had been the case
a decade ago
In terms of export structure, the subregion as a
whole has become more exposed to commodityrelated
risks than had been the case a decade ago,
making the domestic economies vulnerable to a sharp
decline in commodity prices (ESCAP, 2012b). For
net energy exporters, 3 the share of energy-related
products in total merchandise exports increased from
53% in 2001 to 67% in 2010. Similarly, for metal
and mineral exporters, the share of mineral products
in total merchandise exports increased from 49%
to 52%. Over the same period, the composition
of economies in the subregion has also changed
dramatically. Services have become the dominant
sector for all net energy importers, while the
industrial sector, including hydrocarbon and mining
industries, remain the highest contributing sector in
energy exporting economies, such as Azerbaijan and
Turkmenistan. In addition, all net energy importers,
with an exception of Georgia where the services
sector accounts for about three quarters of GDP
growth, the agricultural sector still accounts for large
shares of employment and contributes to nearly one
fifth of GDP growth.
In Armenia, there was strong performance in
agriculture and industry, pushing up GDP growth
from 4.7% in 2011 to 7.2% in 2012. Demand for
Armenian metals and minerals remained relatively
strong amid weak external conditions. Unlike several
economies in the subregion, where agricultural
sectors suffered losses caused by poor weather
conditions, the country’s agricultural output grew
strongly. The Government’s accommodative fiscal
policy and support to small and medium-sized
enterprises also contributed to a sustained growth.
Growth of workers’ remittances slowed in 2012,
partly due to a high base effect, but remained a
major source of income generation, accounting for
more than 10% of GDP.
Azerbaijan experienced a sharp slowdown in GDP
growth to 0.1% in 2011, reflecting a contraction in oil
production owing to repair work on the major oilfields.
There was some improvement in oil production and
that helped in raising GDP growth to 2.2% in 2012.
Agricultural, construction and services sectors also
contributed to improved growth. Nevertheless, this
pace of growth is still much slower than its long-term
trend. Sluggish growth in the major destinations for
oil exports, namely the euro zone and China, also
kept growth of the economy below its potential.
The economy of Georgia maintained a 7% growth
rate in 2012, the same rate registered in 2011. A
worsening external environment dampened demand
for mining, quarrying and metallurgy products, and
poor weather conditions weighed down the growth
of agricultural output. However, robust growth in
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