Armenia’s Foreign Trade Doubled in the First Half of 2024 to Over $18.4bn

YEREVAN — Armenia’s foreign trade in January-June 2024 has doubled year-on-year to over $18.4 billion, the National Statistical Committee reported.

Trade with Russia stood at about $8.4 billion, an increase of 2.6 times compared to the first six months of 2023. In contrast, Armenia’s trade with EU countries decreased by 23.7% to over $1 billion. The five largest EU trade partners were Germany ($225.8 million, 35.2% decline), Italy ($198 million, 1.1% decline), the Netherlands ($82 million, 60.2% decline), Belgium ($79.4 million, 21.1% growth), and France ($68.4 million, 14.9% decline).

Other major trade partners included the UAE ($3.7 billion, 7.5 times growth), China ($1.4 billion, 41.9% growth), Iran ($323 million, down 6.8%), USA ($234 million, down 40%), Georgia ($131.7 million, up 2.7%), Iraq ($87.6 million, down 13.1%), Switzerland ($85.3 million, up 44%), and the Republic of Korea ($66.7 million, down 28.8%).

Exports
Exports increased 2.3 times to about $8 billion. Exports to Russia fell by 21% to $1.4 billion. Exports to the European Union decreased by 25.1% to $282 million. The top three countries in terms of exports were the Netherlands ($56.6 million, a decrease of 66.9%), Belgium ($54.2 million, an increase of 52.7%), and Bulgaria ($41 million, an increase of 23.9%).

Other countries with significant exports from Armenia included the UAE ($3.7 billion, 7.8-fold growth), China ($714 million, 3.4-fold growth), Iraq ($87.5 million, a decrease of 12.7%), Georgia ($74 million, a decrease of 2.7%), Switzerland ($54.5 million, an increase of 36.2%), Iran ($53 million, a decrease of 5.3%), and the USA ($28.3 million, an increase of 21.9%).

According to statistics, exports of precious metals and articles totaled $5.6 billion, up 8.1 times compared to January-June 2023. Machinery, equipment, and mechanisms amounted to $609 million, down 2.4%. Exports of mining industry products reached $493 million, up 18.6%, finished food products were $400 million, down 4.5%, and textiles were $171 million, up 3%.

Imports
Imports to Armenia in the first six months of 2024 totaled over $10.4 billion, registering a growth of 86.5% compared to the first half of 2023.

Imports from Russia totaled over $7 billion, reflecting a 4.7 times growth. Imports from EU countries decreased by 18.5% to $923 million. The top three EU countries in terms of imports were Germany ($201 million, down 32.9%), Italy ($156 million, down 3.2%), and the Netherlands ($99.3 million, up 9.9%).

Imports from China totaled $443 million, down 1%, from Georgia $346 million, down 31.4%, Iran $273 million, down 7.1%, UAE $233 million, down 25.4%, and the United States $201.3 million, down 58.5%.

The bulk of imports were precious and semi-precious stones ($6 billion, up 9.4 times), machinery, equipment, and mechanisms ($1.2 billion, up 0.6%), mining industry products ($515 million, down 5.6%), land, air, and water vehicles ($432 million, down 57.8%), products of chemical and related industries ($388 million, up 21.6%), textiles and textile products ($309.7 million, up 7.8%), finished food products ($299 million, up 3.1%), and non-precious metals and articles ($253.7 million, down 12.7%).