ArmInfo. Remittances of Armenian labor migrants from Russia decreased, while transfers of Russians staying in the RA increased. Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Hovhannes Khachatryan stated on May 16 at a meeting of the RA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs.
At the beginning of the year, in March, the Central Bank forecasted a 20% reduction in remittances (a 50% reduction from the Russian Federation). In fact, while the transfers of labor migrants (seasonal workers in the Russian Federation) decreased, the volume of transfers made by Russians staying in the RA increased in parallel (the Central Bank classifies them as international visitors). The amounts received through this channel are considerable and have already affected the overall dynamics, Khachatryan noted.
Nevertheless, the Central Bank is in no hurry to make forecasts, since it is not clear how long the Russians will stay in the RA. In order to understand the situation, the Central Bank conducted a survey among Russians. According to the Central Bank, the situation will become clearer in August - before the start of the new academic year - depending on how many children from visiting families stay in schools, it will become clear how many of them decided to settle in the RA for a longer period.
According to the data of the Union of Banks of Armenia, in Q1 2022, the inflow of transfers from individuals to Armenia increased by 38.2% per annum or by $155 million, reaching $561 million. At the same time, the lion's share traditionally falls on the Russian market (42.6%), followed by the United States (25.5%). Very small volumes of transfers come from France, Germany, Kazakhstan, UAE, Ukraine, Spain, China. The outflow of remittances from Armenia in y-o-y terms increased by 35% or $97 million, amounting to $374 million. Moreover, transfers were mainly directed to Russia (33.2%) and the USA (16.3%), as well as to the UAE (6.4%), China (4%), Germany (2.9%), and to a lesser extent France, Spain, Ukraine, Kazakhstan. As a result, the net inflow of transfers, having increased in y-o-y terms by 45% or by $58 million, reached $187 million in Q1 2022