ArmInfo. In the composition of the total volume of production in Armenia, the share of mining products decreased from 60% to 30%. RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan stated this in an interview to the Public Television of Armenia.
In this regard, he recalled that the government's program focuses on the development and expansion of the manufacturing industry, in particular, jewelry, diamond cutting, pharmaceuticals, chemical industry, metallurgy, machine tool building, etc.
"Our dream is to make Armenia a large industrial country, as it was 40 years ago," the minister stressed. Kerobyan also referred to the achieved positive results that Armenia has improved its positions in the UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) rating on CIP (Competitive Industrial Performance). He noted that with its position in the region, Armenia bypassed Georgia and Azerbaijan. <That is, the gross industrial capacity of Armenia is higher, although we occupy a modest place (93rd among 150 countries, ed. note), which is unacceptable for us. This means that we should redouble our efforts to get the country we want>, the minister said.
In this regard, he urged not to associate such achievements with the consequences of the Ukrainian-Russian war, or the influence of Russian immigrants and the results of their activities. The minister stressed that all this is the result of the work of the government, including the Ministry of Economy. Kerobyan also recalled the introduction of a ban on the export of scrap metal, which had a positive impact on the domestic market. He noticed that steel companies have made more profound their production cycles. "We see that the production cycle is starting to deepen, and we are approaching the production of finished end products, which is also good news," he said.
In this context, the minister recalled the construction of a plant in Masis for the production of aluminum radiators, the launch of production of cars based on the South Korean Ssang Yong in Yerevan, and plans to launch the production of electric vehicles together with the Chinese Beijing Auto concern. <We see every day that our efforts are bearing fruit>, Kerobyan emphasized.
It should be noted that according to the RA Statistical Committee, the industrial sector of Armenia in Jan- May 2023 accelerated they-o-y growth rate from 2.7% to 3%, providing a volume of 952.5 billion drams ($2.4 billion). In May alone, the industrial sector showed an increase of 9.9% - to 204.7 billion drams ($529.6 million).
During the reporting period, the mining sector slowed down the y-o-y decline from 12.1% to 5.3%, ensuring the volume of 189.6 billion drams. At the same time, in May alone, the volumes of the sector increased by 0.9%, amounting to 34.3 billion drams.
YoY growth in the dominant manufacturing industry continued, but with a slowdown in y-o-y rates from 10.6% to 7.2%, with production volumes of 613.6 billion drams. However, in May alone, the growth of volumes were higher - 14.9% to 146.7 billion drams.
