Armenia's economy is experiencing significant growth in trade turnover, despite a slowdown in some economic indicators. From January to August 2024, the total trade turnover reached $9.95 billion, which is 20.4% higher than in the same period last year.
Wholesale trade showed particularly impressive results, totaling $6.55 billion, an increase of 28.7% compared to the previous year. Retail trade also demonstrated positive growth, rising by 9.4% to $3.02 billion.
According to the news agency "Armenpress," economist Edgar Aghabekyan, an expert at the "Amberd" Research Center, attributes these figures to several key factors. He noted that despite a decrease in the re-export of gold, certain sectors of the economy continue to show steady growth.
In the structure of retail trade, store sales grew by 11.9%, reaching $2.52 billion. However, turnover from kiosks slightly decreased by 0.4%, amounting to $37 million. A 7.1% decline was also noted in sales at agricultural markets, which totaled $25 million.
The automotive sector deserves special attention, as it experienced a 7.8% decline, with a total volume of $393 million. Expert Edgar Agabekyan links this decrease to the weakening shock effect of earlier international sanctions and increasing competition from other countries in the re-export sector.
