RA Ministry of Economy hopes for further development of foil rolling  production 

ArmInfo. The issues of anti-crisis development of one of the largest enterprises in Armenia  - the Yerevan foil rolling plant "Armenal" were discussed during the visit of the delegation of the Ministry of Economy of Armenia headed by Deputy Minister Edgar Zakaryan to the enterprise.

As reported by the press service of the department, Edgar Zakaryan,  accompanied by Acting General Director Tigran Arustamyan, walked  around the territory of the plant, got acquainted with the production  capabilities, current and planned future programs related to the  prospects for the development of the aluminum industry, issues of  cooperation with government agencies and other industrial  enterprises.

The "Armenal" plant is the only enterprise in Armenia that produces  and exports aluminum foil. Since 2000, the enterprise has been part  of the Russian RUSAL. With the application of Western sanctions  against RUSAL structures (due to the military conflict between Russia  and Ukraine), Armenal's production volumes began to rapidly decline.  Since 2023, information has been circulating in the Armenian segment  of social networks that the management of the united company RUSAL  presented the Armenian enterprise with a demand to reduce the number  of employees by 30% (200 people) with subsequent possible  conservation of the enterprise itself for the purpose of sale. The  deadline was set until January 1, 2024.

After 2024, information leaked to the media that the Tashir group of  companies (owner Samvel Karapetyan) was considering the possibility  of acquiring the plant, which has been operating at a loss for a year  and a half due to Western sanctions. However, neither the Minister of  Economy of Armenia Gevorg Papoyan nor representatives of Tashir have  commented on this issue yet. 

In particular, summing up the 100-day activity as Minister of  Economy, Gevorg Papoyan said that despite high production volumes,  the plant has certain problems with sales markets due to Western  sanctions against Russia and specifically the RUSAL group of  companies. Without disclosing any details, Papoyan noted that  business negotiations are currently underway, and any comments can  only hinder. "But we are doing and will do everything possible so  that tomorrow and in the future, such an industrial capacity and an  important asset of the country as Armenal would work in our country,"  Papoyan emphasized.

In particular, the Ministry of Economy has developed a concept for  the development of the industry, where it presented the risks  associated not only with sanctions, but also with fluctuations in  world prices for aluminum due to unstable demand. In their concept,  the experts of the Ministry of Economy considered it possible to  reorient the Armenal enterprise to other markets, including the local  one, the volume of which in 2022 amounted to about $ 10 million. In  addition, it was stated that the government is also ready to provide  additional assistance to investors wishing to enter the market,  including loan subsidies and tax breaks (subject to compliance with  all requirements).

According to the RA Statistical Committee, in the first quarter of  2025, the production of aluminum foil in Armenia noticeably slowed  down in the annual decline - from 35.3% to 5.3%, amounting to 4,684.6  thousand tons. For the whole of 2024, the production of aluminum foil  accelerated in decline from 21.1% to 23.2%, amounting to 19.7  thousand tons.

We also remind you that according to the data of the RA Customs  Service, in the first half of 2024, the plant exported 10.1 thousand  tons of aluminum foil, which is 22.8% lower than the figure for the  previous year (against a decline of 16.5% a year earlier for the same  period). The customs value of exported foil decreased by 35.9% to  $31.6 million.

Foil was mainly exported to Germany (21.4%), followed by Poland  (20.9%), the Netherlands (13.6%), Spain (11.7%), Italy (11.5%),  France (6.6%), Russia (5.3%), Slovenia (2.7%), the Czech Republic  (1.7%), the United Kingdom (1.5%), Greece (1.2%), and the remaining  volume was sent to Belgium, Albania, Hungary, Georgia, Kazakhstan.