According to Georgian authorities, Georgia's trade turnover with Armenia exceeded $1 billion in 2023, while according to the Armenian Statistical Committee, the trade turnover between the two countries last year amounted to $262 million - five times lower than Georgia claimed. BMG got interested in the reason of different calculations.
Armenian expert on Georgia, Johnny Melikyan explains this "anomaly" in the calculations of Armenian-Georgian trade by the difference in approaches of the two countries.
"Georgian authorities account for all goods exported to Armenia from Georgia that have passed customs procedures. Whereas Armenia accounts for goods based on their country of origin. That's why there is such a discrepancy in the numbers," Melikyan explained in an interview with BMG.
Thus, according to Georgian approach, in 2023, imports from Georgia to Armenia increased by about 31%, reaching $944 million, and the total trade turnover exceeded the $1 billion mark. Although the import of purely Georgian goods during this period decreased by 15%.
A similar logic can be seen in January 2024, when according to Armenian statistics, the "net" trade turnover between the two countries increased by 23% to $20 million, but only the total import volume (excluding the country of origin factor) from Georgia amounted to over $40 million.
