Non-oil export challenges of oil countries in case of Azerbaijan

The purpose of the article is to analyze the trade sector of Azerbaijan for the last decades and to determine the competitive advantages of the agricultural sector. Research methods. Due to analysis current situation, Reveal Competitive Advantage, Herfindahl-Hirschman market concentration index and descriptive statistical analysis are used in this paper. Research results. The Agricultural sector can be one of the main drivers of economic development in natural resourcerich countries. On the other hand, due to crowding out effect of oil sector, agricultural sector lags behind of its potential. At the same time, trade dependency on oil related sectors and diversification of export products and destinations are very significant for the future economic perspectives of resource-rich countries. Scientific novelty. Our analysis show that Azerbaijan’s dependency on natural resources affected significantly on export diversification and country need to diversify its exported product and export destinations to ensure trade security. Furthermore, analysis reveals that agricultural products have tremendous potential to be globally competitive in compare to other produced goods in the country. Practical significance. Current and forward-looking research on export trends, RCA issues and export diversification will help government agencies and government agencies to monitor and develop current strategies to overcome the negative effects of resource dependence in Azerbaijan. Tabl.: 6. Figs.: 4. Refs.: 33.