ArmInfo. For now there is no program in Armenia guarantying 5% economy growth. This was stated during the press conference on May 24 by Bagrat Asatryan, economist, ACB ex chairman, based on the President's statement on providing annual average economy growth for 5%.
"First of all, 5% in my opinion, is not enough to solve relevant problems in the country. This is the highest point of ambitions. Is it real to reach that level? I think, this should be guaranteed by implemented programs Armenia does not have. It is possible that if the situation would be better in Russia, it would be possible to reach that index due to growth of transfers," economist explained.
Answering ArmInfo question how realistic are publicized data of indexes of economy activeness for first 4 months according to official data, Asatryan stressed: "Believe me, little should be done to provide 5.7% growth." At the same time, he stressed that in the previous year for the same period the growth dynamic was higher, based on defining role of statisticians artistic skills in reaching these type of indexes, not on real economic aspects. As basic growth drivers for Jan-April of the current year, he pointed export, industrial sector, energy, services and trade. However, what is to trade, Armenian CB ex-head stressed that the upward trend in the sphere was achieved thanks to the growth of import, which in its turn became possible due to the growth of transfers, which, according to preliminary estimates, increased for almost 10%. "In other words , there is no need to talk about any qualitative development of the Armenian economy," Asatryan said.
According to Armenian National Statistics Service preliminary data, Armenian economic activeness in Jan- April 2017 grew for 5.7% annual within 16.1% growth of export and 14.6% of import growth. Economic activeness growth for the reported period to a greater extent determined the industrial sector - by 12.9% annually , the sphere of trade - by 12.1%, the services sector - by 10.1% annually , against which the growth rate of the energy complex looked too modest - 4.4%. At the same time, the annual decline in volumes was observed in the agricultural sector - by 2.9% and in the construction sector - by 13.4%. A year earlier, in January-April 2016, the industrial sector, the services sector, the agricultural sector and the energy complex grew by 10%, 9.3%, 4.1% and 3.5% annually, while the trade and construction sectors showed a decline - 0.8% and 7.4% annually , respectively.