In 2023, 34% of Armenia's exports were accounted for by the UAE and Hong Kong, while approximately 42% were attributed to Russia. As noted by economist Agasi Tavadyan, in total, about 75% of Armenia's exports last year were directed to these countries, and with the exclusion of these states, exports to all other countries decreased by 12%.
According to him, Armenia's exports amounted to $3 billion in 2021, $5.4 billion in 2022, and closed 2023 at $8.3 billion.
"In 2022, growth was about 79%, but exports to Russia tripled. In 2023, exports increased by 55.3%, while to Russia - only by 43%; the main growth was provided in the direction of the UAE - by 4.3 times," he said on the air of the "Let's Talk Numbers" program, as reported by the "ARKA" agency.
Tavadyan noted that some experts talk about the growth of re-exports.
"We have re-exports going in two directions. One is from other states - China and the EU - towards Russia. This mainly includes household appliances and cars. The second direction is re-export from Russia to the UAE and recently to Hong Kong of gold and diamonds," he said.
He pointed out that the sharp growth in exports and re-exports began in April 2022 amid massive sanctions against Russia, as a result of which the Russian market lost a large number of goods, and they began to enter the country through Armenia.
During the first two months of 2024, the Armenian economy demonstrated impressive export growth, exceeding last year's figures by more than twice. Experts attribute this to a sharp increase in gold exports, which has been contributing to the growth of the industrial sector for several months now.
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.
In general, the sharp increase in the production of jewelry compensated for the decline and slowdown in other key sectors of Armenia's industry.
The presence of gold re-export was also confirmed in a publication by Hetq, a publication specializing in investigations. This publication provides detailed descriptions of re-export mechanisms through companies affiliated with Armenian authorities.
