Some 76% of Armenian exports in 2023 went to Russia, UAE and Hong Kong- economist
YEREVAN, April 17. /ARKA/. In 2023, 34% of Armenian exports went to the UAE and Hong Kong, and about 42% to Russia, while exports to other countries dropped by 12 %, according to economist Aghasi Tavadyan.
He recalled that exports from Armenia grew to 3 billion in 2021, $5.4 billion in 2022, and $8.3 billion in 2023.
"In 2022, the growth was about 79%, but exports to Russia grew 3 times. In 2023, exports grew by 55.3%, but exports to Russia grew only 43%, while exports to the UAE grew by 4.3 times," he said.
Tavadyan noted that some experts explain the surge by re-exports.
"We have re-exports going in two directions. One is from China and the EU going to Russia. These are mainly household appliances and cars. The second direction of re-export is the UAE and Hong Kong which receive gold and diamonds from Russia via Armenia," he said.
The expert noted that, according to official statistics, in 2022 the share of re-exports in the total exports amounted to 4.4%, and in 2023 – to 3.3%. According to him, textile clothing and footwear were re-exported most of all (44.3%).
The sharp rise in exports and re-exports started in April 2022 amid large-scale sanctions against Russia, as a result of which the Russian market was deprived of a large number of goods and they began to enter that country through Armenia.
"The outflow of money began from Russia, some of which ended up in Armenia. This capital outflow was also expressed in the form of gold and diamonds," he said.
According to the National Statistical Committee, Armenia's foreign trade turnover in 2023 increased by 46%, exceeding $20 billion. The largest foreign trade partners were Russia ($7.3 billion, up 43.3% yoy), UAE ($2.3 billion, up 3.9 times) and China ($2.1 billion, up 21.3%).
Exports in 2023 amounted to $8.4 billion with growth of 55.3%, the main directions were Russia ($3.4 billion, growth by 38.8%), UAE ($2.2 billion, growth by 4.2 times) and China ($425.3 million, growth by 15.1%).
Imports last year rose 40.2% to $12.3 billion- $4 billion from Russia, up 39.9%, $951.2 million from China , up 36.3% and $943.8 million from Georgia, up 30.6%. -0-
