Andranik Manukyan’s Interview to Tert.am

There is a 70 percent increase in exports from Armenia to the Eurasian Economic Union member states, the reason being Turkish products exported to Russia via the territory of Armenia: economist Andranik Manukyan, expert at the Union of Informed Citizens NGO, told in an interview to Tert.am.

After Russian sanctions against Turkey, a number of Turkish products that had no longer been imported to the Russian market, according to Manukyan, are being imported now from Armenia.

The sharp rise in exports from Armenia to the EAEU, according to Manukyan, occured at the expense of goods, which Armenia itself is an importer. “According to data published by the Eurasian Economic Commission, export growth has occurred at the expense of products, which Armenia itself is an importing country for and the production of which is in not-so-good condition. In particular, in the first half of 2016, there was a twentyfold increase in tomato exports; cheese and cottage cheese exports, as well as caviar and ready-made fish, increased fourfold. During the same period, there has been an increase of 9.6 times in exports of vaccines, 5.8 times – various vegetables, 8.3 times – clay, and 3.6 times in export of heating systems, air conditioners parts, remote controls and other equipment,” the economist explained.

Manukyan said that Armenia, for example, does not have the capacity to export tomato paste in quantities to cover the entire Russian market.

According to the economist, Armenia has now become a large scale exporter of certain products which it never exported in the past: this is at least strange.

“It is a simple re-export of Turkish goods – exported to Russia through Armenia. One can not certainly say that all of this 70 percent of exports are made at the expense of Turkish products, but approximately 50 percent is the re-export of goods imported from Turkey to Armenia,” Andranik Manukyan underlined.

He also noted that this year the volume of the goods traditionally exported from Armenia to Russia has decreased.

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