ArmInfo. In H1 2016, Armenia increased the copper ore export by 29.4% (versus 57.2% growth a year before), reducing the zinc and molybdenum concentrate export by 52.7% and 61.1%, respectively (versus 8.9% and 28.8% growth a year before), according to the Customs Service of Armenia.
In H1 2016, copper ore exports amounted to 185.1 thsd tons (versus 143 thsd tons a year before), with the customs value growing by 1.2% to $160.3 mln (versus $158 mln in H1 2015). The copper ore was mostly exported to Bulgaria (50.2%), Georgia (27.6%), China (16.2%) and Romania (6%).
The molybdenum concentrate exports amounted to 210.3 tons (versus 540.8 tons a year before, with the customs value dropping by 75.3% to $938.4 thsd (versus $3.8 mln in H1 2015). The molybdenum concentrate was totally exported to the Netherlands.
In H1 2016, Armenia exported 3.1 thsd tons of zinc concentrate (versus 6.6 thsd tons a year before), with the customs value dropping by 57.7% to $2.7 mln (versus $6.5 mln a year before). The zinc concentrate was totally exported to Belgium.
The export of ores containing precious metals dropped by 18.4% to 2.5 thsd tons versus 3 thsd tons a year before, with the customs value falling by 18.2% to $11.9 mln (versus $14.6 mln in H1 2015). China was the only buyer of the ore.
To note, in 2015, Armenia increased the copper ore exports by 67%, with the customs value growing by 34.2%. The molybdenum concentrate exports rose by 6.6%, with the proceeds dropping by 34.1% due to the decline in the ore prices on the global market. In 2015, Armenia decreased the zinc concentrate exports both quantitatively and in the value terms - by 1.4% and 13%, respectively. The exports of ores containing precious metals grew by 12%, with the customs value dropping by 3.5% due to the fall in global prices.
The National Statistical Service of Armenia reports that in H1 2016 the copper concentrate output grew by 31% to 192.6 thsd tons, while the molybdenum concentrate output fell by 7.9% to 5253 tons and the zinc concentrate output fell by 48.7% to 3528 tons. Throughout 2015, the output of copper concentrate totaled 315.6 thsd tons (up 64.1% versus 2014), molybdenum concentrate - 10.4 thsd tons (down 11.6%), and zinc concentrate - 11.3 thsd tons (down 23%).
