Azerbaijan Sends First Railway Export Shipment to China via Middle Corridor

Wedoany.com Report-Nov 27, Azerbaijan has dispatched its first-ever railway export shipment to China, signaling a new phase in trade relations between the two countries.

On November 24, a block train consisting of 62 forty-foot containers departed from Baku, destined for Xi'an Port in China via Kazakhstan.

The Middle Corridor international transport route, previously used mainly for transit and import cargoes from China to Azerbaijan, is now facilitating export shipments in the opposite direction. This is expected to enhance the efficiency of the corridor and increase cargo volumes moving both eastward and westward.

Representatives from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan railways, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route secretariat, and China's Xi'an Changba International Port attended the launching ceremony. The project plans to send a total of 15,000 tons, or 600 containers, of export goods to China by the end of the year.

Local operators, including Azerbaijan Railways (ADY), Absheron Logistics Center, Baku International Sea Trade Port, and Azerbaijan Caspian Sea Shipping, are collaborating to utilize Azerbaijan's own ports and logistics facilities. This shift allows export products that previously transited through Georgia's Black Sea ports to be shipped directly via domestic routes.

Since the beginning of this year, 280 container block trains have arrived in Azerbaijan from China. The plan is to receive over 300 such trains by year-end and to increase this number to 1,000 by 2025.