Expert: Growth of export of agricultural products has become one of the key factors for increasing freight traffic

ArmInfo. The growth of export of agricultural products has become one of the key factors for increasing freight traffic in 2017. This was stated during the press conference on April 13 by the Chairman of the Union of Cargo Carriers of Armenia Makar Arakelyan.

He noted that by and large this is due to Armenia's membership in the EAEU, where Armenian agro products (ready and canned) are widely known and in demand. In particular, as the chairman of the Union emphasized, referring to the results of the first quarter, the dynamics continues to demonstrate high growth rates.

In addition,  Arakelyan noted that the growth of cargo transportation is also conditioned by the GSP + regime and the implementation of the REX system in the framework of cooperation with the EU, which allow importing goods to Europe without duties. Such a system, according to the chairman of the Union, works with the US, which led to an increase in exports of agricultural products, particularly canned. In this vein, the expert did not rule out the increase in the export volumes of several types of jam from Armenia to the US, given the high demand. The registration of the Iranian company for certification Halal in Armenia, according to Arakelyan, also affected the growth of export supplies of meat and meat products to the markets of Arab countries and Iran, and, accordingly, the increase of freight traffic in this direction.

At the same time, the dynamics of cargo transportation was affected by a sharp decline in freight tariffs. <3- 4 years ago, in the case of exports to Moscow, a tonnage of 20 tons, prices ranged from $ 5 thousand to $ 7 thousand. Since last year, freight tariffs have dropped to $ 1.2 thousand- $ 1.5 thousand. Naturally, this affects the growth of export supplies and, respectively, freight. Especially if we take into account that 96% of the total volume of Armenian exports to the countries in the EAEU falls on the Russian market, "he concluded.  According to the Armenian National Statistics Service data, the volume of cargo transportation in Armenia in 2017 increased by 36.9% (against growth of 85.3% in 2016), making 28 046.7 thousand tons. Of these, 23 597.5 thousand tons (84.1% of the total) accounted for road transport, which increased by 45.2% year- on-year. According to statistical data, in 2017, exports increased by 25.2% to $ 2.2 billion, with imports increasing by 27.8% to $ 4.2 billion.