Armenia-Russia trade turnover tops $7 billion

Trade turnover between Armenia and Russia for 2023 has grown by 43 per cent, reaching $7 billion 306 million, according to data from the National Statistical Committee of Armenia for 2023.

The specific weight of Russia in Armenia's total foreign trade remained at about the same level (decreased from 35.6 per cent to 35.3 per cent) compared to 2022, Caliber.Az reports citing the statistics.

Exports from Armenia are up by almost 39 per cent to a total of $3 billion 418 million. This means that the share of exports and imports in trade with Russia is almost the same (47 per cent / 53 per cent).

Trade with the United Arab Emirates almost quadrupled to $2 billion 298 million, almost entirely due to Armenian exports. Due to current geopolitical developments, the resale of goods accounts for a significant share of trade with both Russia and the UAE. This can be seen in the very strong growth in trade with both countries from 2022 onwards.

Trade with China grew by 21 per cent to $2 billion 127 million. Imports from Armenia increased by 15 per cent to $ 425 million (mainly consisting of raw materials for the mining industry). The export-import ratio remained the same: about 80 per cent/20 per cent in favour of China.

Trade with the US grew by 45 per cent, but exports from Armenia fell by 40 per cent (from about $78 million to $48 million) due to high tariffs imposed by the US government on the purchase of aluminium foil from Armenia. Today, Armenia's import-export ratio with the United States is even lower than with China (7 per cent/93 per cent).

Due to a decline in exports from Armenia by about 15 per cent (to $95 million), trade with Iran fell by about 2.5 per cent. As Armenia's exports to Iran, apart from electricity, are extremely limited, the decline in exports can be attributed to fluctuations in the supply of electricity for gas. As a result, exports are still far less important than imports in trade with Iran (about 15 per cent vs. 85 per cent).

Overall, trade with the EU countries increased by about 17 per cent to $2 billion 672 million, but exports decreased by 8 per cent to about $710 million. The share of exports in trade with the EU is 26 per cent.

As for the specific weight in Armenia's foreign trade, Russia had 35.3 per cent, followed by Emirates - 11.1 per cent, China - 10.3 per cent, Iran - 3.3 per cent, USA - 3.2 per cent, EU countries - 12.9 per cent, including Germany - 3.1 per cent, Italy - 2.0 per cent, Netherlands - 1.4 per cent.