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Drastic fall hits Armenia's exports to CIS, EU

07 April 2015 [12:45] - TODAY.AZ

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Exports from Armenia have sharply decreased over the first two months this year, according to the official statistics data.

A drastic fall is currently being observed in all export directions in Armenia and the ongoing trend is seen as a serious caution to the country's economy.

Exports from Armenia to the countries of CIS reduced by 84.5 percent dropping from $49 million to $7 million in January-February compared to the same period last year.

The most interesting is that Russia, which accounts for nearly 85 percent of Armenia's overall exportation volumes, has not imported any goods from its southern neighbor over the mentioned period.

Instead of the usual $40.1 million export-worth volumes, Armenian exporters' overall deliveries to Russia, the South Caucasus country's close ally at the Eurasian Economic Union, stand at $533,000 this year.

Other ally countries of the EEU, Kazakhstan and Belarus customs checkpoints have seen no any imported goods from Armenia since earlier this year either.

Meanwhile, Armenia's trade relations with the European Union received a serious blow as exports to EU member-states fell by 21.8 percent.

Zoghovurd, a newspaper in Yerevan, noted that despite the fall in export turnover with the CIS and EU countries, Armenia managed to deliver 13 percent more goods, particularly honey essence to China.

Brandy and wine exports traditionally share the bulk of Armenia's total exports. But the economic crisis in Russia has well influenced on the brandy export sector from Armenia as the alcoholic product's delivery to the northern giant's markets reduced by 31.3 percent or 705.7 liters.

Co-owner of the Armenian Wine company, Vaahn Mkrtchyan said the ruble's depreciation caused serious complications to the wine export industry. He believes that the economic downfall in Armenia is based primarily on the ruble's devaluation as it triggered a sharp fall in purchasing power in all markets and caused a drop in orders for Armenian brandy.

Thomas De Waal, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment, specializing primarily in the South Caucasus region said in his recent report about the South Caucasus that Armenia had an overall weaker economy, heavily intertwined with that of Russia.

Armenia's "promising" integration into the Eurasian Economic Union got a bad mark also from de Waal, when he said the recent economic stagnation in the country was triggered after the government yoked the country even more strongly to Russia by joining the EEU.

According to data published by the National Statistical Service, this January, Armenia's economy saw its foreign trade turnover dropped by 30 percent and its export dropped by 22 percent.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/139649.html

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