MOSCOW, Aug 19 In the first half of 2023, Armenia exported more goods to Russia than it imported for the first time, generating a $210 million trade surplus, calculated based on data Armenian customs.
According to the results of January-June of the current year, Armenia received the first surplus in trade with Russia since at least 2003 — at the level of $210 million. At the same time, a deficit has been recorded in recent years: the largest at $596 million last year, and the smallest at $45 million in 2004.
This happened thanks to the rapid growth of Armenia's exports: this year, the supply of goods tripled to $1.68 billion. At the same time, imports of goods from Russia also grew — by 28%, to $1.5 billion. As a result, the trade turnover between the two countries in January-June reached a record $3.14 billion for the first time.
Russia remains Armenia's main trading partner by a wide margin, followed by the UAE ($782 million) and China ($655 million). The top five trading partners also include Georgia and the United States.
At the same time, the Netherlands and Iraq are among the most important destinations for the export of Armenian goods instead of Georgia and the United States. And Vietnam ousted the UAE from the top five import partners of Armenia.