Advisor to the Minister: By 2030, the volume of production of jewelry  and faceted products in Armenia can reach $ 1 billion

ArmInfo.By 2030, the volume of production of jewelry and faceted products in Armenia can reach $ 1 billion. Gagik Mkrtchyan, advisor to the Minister of  Economic Development and Investments of Armenia, informed ArmInfo.

According to him, a program for the development of the sphere has  been developed and is being applied.  To date, the adviser to the  minister continued, the main task is to bring production volumes to  2003 levels to $ 300- $ 400 million per year by 2022. "I am sure that  by 2030 we will be able to reach this index," Gagik Mkrtchyan said,  pointing out the importance of excluding previous mistakes. The  advisor to the minister stressed that the task is to ensure at least  1% growth of the sphere annually, which is a very good indicator. In  order to achieve this goal, negotiations are being conducted with  suppliers of raw materials and expanding the geography of exports of  finished products.

Gagik Mkrtchyan reminded that in 2003 in Armenia 43 companies engaged  in diamond cutting actively worked and 12-13 companies in the  production of jewelry products. Today, this figure is equal to 3-4  companies in the sphere of cutting and 7-8 - in the sphere of jewelry  production. Many companies are in a "dormant state", but in the case  of projects in the space of the Eurasian Economic Union, these  companies will undoubtedly "wake up".

At present, raw materials for lapidary and jewelry production are  supplied from Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium and Canada.  And, from September 1, 2016, the Russian Federation stopped supplying  rough diamonds with a 6.5% customs discount. Prior to this, the  adviser to the minister continued, from 2013 the Russian Federation  supplied diamonds with tax benefits within the framework of the  program on Armenia's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union. "At  the beginning of the year we started a new round of negotiations with  the Alrosa company, but I will refrain from reporting anything about  them, as the talks continue," Gagik Mkrtchyan stressed.

Nevertheless, according to him, this factor will not play a  significant role in the production of competitive products. Another  thing is the exclusion of various obstacles within the framework of  the EAEU, including marking and sealing of jewelry products industry.  And if the issue with the samples is practically solved, then the  issue with the labeling of products is postponed for a long time,  since it requires more than serious investments to purchase modern  equipment and solve legal issues. "The Russian Federation insists on  labeling products, and this would be an ideal option, since it  indicates not only the country producing the raw materials, but also  the manufacturer of the products. However, it is practically  impossible to do this technically in the near future, since serious  investments in technical equipment are required, which is expensive  Therefore, at this stage, it was decided to postpone the issue of  marking and stop at the mutual recognition of the EAEU countries by  the agreement on this issue will be adopted in October this year,  after which the document will have to pass interstate ratification  procedures, "the adviser to the minister noted.

Earlier Gagik Mkrtchyan informed that in 2017 the jewelry and faceted  sphere for the first time after 2008 came out on the figures with a  three-digit figure. In particular, last year the volume of production  amounted to $ 102 million, of which $ 82 million fell to the share of  processing diamonds. He noted that the sale of products is carried  out in international markets in Belgium, the United States and the  United Arab Emirates.  According to the National Statistical  Committee of Armenia, the production of jewelry in Armenia in 2017  was 49.6 billion drams ($ 103.3 million with growth of 35.7%). In  2017, 1,929.2 kg of gold products were produced (2.5 times growth)  and diamonds by 204,102 carats (an increase of 62.7%). Export of  precious and semiprecious stones, precious metals, products from them  in 2017 amounted to $ 289.5 million (decline by 14.1%), and imports  amounted to $ 237.6 million (an increase of $ 47.1).