In January 2024, the export of precious stones and jewelry from Armenia significantly increased, reaching $587 million. This figure is 9 times higher than the export volumes of the same period last year, which amounted to only $60 million.
According to the Statistical committee, there was also a significant increase in import activity regarding precious stones and jewelry into Armenia. During the same period, imports amounted to $509 million, which is 8.5 times more than the previous year.
Experts suspect that the growth in both export and import is driven by the phenomenon of re-export through Armenia from Russia to other countries, especially to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The re-export scheme involves importing jewelry from Russia into Armenia and then shipping them to the UAE and Hong Kong, where Armenian goods have recently seen a significant increase in supply.
As noted by the Telegram channel Economy of Armenia, specializing in publishing economic news, some of the precious stones undergo processing in Armenia before their subsequent export, while another part is simply re-exported.
According to the Statistical Committee, in January, the volume of jewelry production in Armenia reached approximately $118 million.
Earlier, BMG reported, that in January of the current year, the UAE entered the top three main trading partners of Armenia, where the export of Armenian goods increased by 7.2 times to $335 million compared to January 2023. Imports from Russia to Armenia during this period tripled, reaching $630 million.
However, the established mechanism of re-export, according to experts, is under threat due to the entry into force of the ban on the import of Russian diamonds, including those processed in third countries, introduced by the G7 countries and the EU from March 1.
