ArmInfo.Coronavirus will have a significant, but short-term impact on the Armenian economy. This opinion was expressed by Minister of Economy Tigran Khachatryan during a press conference in the Unified InfoCenter of the Republic of Armenia on March 19.
He noted that under the current conditions, destruction of the normal course of the economic life of a number of areas in the country are already visible.
Khachatryan emphasized that, due to the spread of coronavirus, mainly food service, tourism and hotel business entities, as well as exporters, whose main market is the Russian Federation, were hit. In this regard, he pointed to a drop in oil prices and the devaluation of the ruble due to the uncertainty in the global economy, which affected the trading operations of Armenian producers. "Although it seemed that lower oil prices should have had a positive impact on the Armenian economy, at the same time, copper prices fell on the international market, which caused a direct blow to the Armenian economy," he said, noticing a significant drop in prices to $ 4,800 per ton. This trend, according to Khachatryan, created difficult conditions for enterprises. However, the Minister is full of confidence that the latter will be able to withstand the challenges, including due to the restructuring of costs.
The government, as Khachatryan noted, daily discusses the possibilities and methods of assisting the private sector of Armenia. The Minister emphasized that the state intends to provide financial assistance to those economic entities that have developed programs to overcome difficulties in the current realities. In addition, the focus of the government will be citizens who, due to the situation with the coronavirus, will find themselves in a difficult situation, in particular due to job loss.
At the same time, he said that discussions are held daily with international organizations that implement development programs in various fields in the country.
