ArmInfo.The most significant positive impact on Armenian exports was the approximately 3.4-fold increase in exports to the UAE. This was stated by Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan on May 29 in parliament at a hearing on the implementation of the budget for the past year.
Thus, according to the minister, in 2023, Armenian exports increased by 55.3%, and re-exports to the Russian Federation - by 76.8%. At the same time, the growth of exports of goods produced in Armenia increased by 7.5%.
The head of the financial department pointed to a reduction in the influx of transfers to the Republic of Armenia. The decline in non-commercial remittances over the past year amounted to 44.3%, which was due to a decrease in the level of transfers from the United States by 12.5%, from other countries by 26.6% and a 53% decrease from the Russian Federation.
The head of the RA Ministry of Finance also shared good news in connection with the growing influx of tourists to the republic. In 2023, 2 million 317 thousand tourists visited the Republic of Armenia (an increase of 39%) or 651 thousand more people than in 2022.
In addition, a decline in unemployment was recorded - by 0.9 percentage points- up to 12.6%. The average monthly nominal salary increased by 14.6% - to 267 thousand drams, including wages in the public sector to 208 thousand drams, and in the private sector -to 295 thousand drams. "Real wages increased by 14% in conditions of 2% inflation," Hovhannisyan pointed out.
Notably, in 2023, exports increased by 55.3% - from $5.4 billion (2022) to $8.4 billion. At the same time, imports increased by 40.2%, from $8.8 billion to $12.3 billion over the same period. In 2023, 34.4% of Armenia's exports, or more than one-third, were directed to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong. The largest export destination was Russia, which accounted for 40.6%. Thus, these three states accounted for 75% of exports in 2023.
As economist Aghasi Tavadyan previously stated, although the overall growth of imports and exports exceeded 40% in 2023, the reality is different. Excluding Russia, the UAE and Hong Kong, exports to other countries fell by 12.2% in 2023, which is alarming and a notable departure from the overall growth trend. Over the past 2 years, excluding these 3 countries, export growth was 0.6% alone with an overall growth of 2.fold . This fact does not indicate stable growth in exports in general, he said, emphasizing that last year half of exports (49.4%) or $4.14 billion were estimated as re-exports.
