On October 28, Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan presented data in parliament on the country’s foreign trade activity for January to September 2024, revealing a mixed picture of economic development.
Armenia's foreign trade turnover reached a record $23.7 billion, up 73.5% compared to the same period last year. Exports more than doubled, reaching $10.6 billion. However, as the minister explained, this impressive growth was largely driven by gold transactions — excluding precious metals, the increase in exports of Armenian-origin goods was only 1.4%.
Imports during the reporting period grew by 54.2%, totaling $13.1 billion. Here too, the figures present a mixed view: excluding re-export operations, the actual import of goods into Armenia fell by 5.2%.
Hovhannisyan noted that the significant growth in gold re-exports, which was observed in the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, has begun to gradually decline. According to Finance Ministry forecasts, this trend is expected to continue into 2025.
