YEREVAN. – Armenia’s exports dropped by 8.6% in the first three months of this year; and some of the indicators that recorded a drop are related to the mining industry. The Minister of Economic Development and Investments, Tigran Khachatryan, noted this at a press conference on Friday.

As per the minister, exports in Armenia’s mining sector decreased by $51 million in the first quarter, of which $21 million were the drop in concentrates, and this decrease is also associated with seasonality in this domain. But the minister projected that, though there was a drop in prices, Armenia would have the same—or slightly larger—indicator in this sector over the course of the year, as to what it had last year.

“Electricity exports have declined in the first quarter, as compared with the previous year; that’s also related to seasonality,” Khachatryan said. “We have a slight decline along the lines of tobacco exports, but there is assurance that the gap will be filled in the months to come.

“The export of aluminum foil has had some decline, which is due to the fact that some restrictions were imposed on the Russian producer in the international market. (...). [But] now the problem has already been resolved and there has been a growth, already in March. On a yearly basis, a 22% to 25% growth in the amount of production envisaged, as compared with the previous year.”

“That is, although we [Armenia] have had a more than 8% reduction in exports, we believe that the year will be concluded with a certain growth. The program envisages a 7% to 8% growth in exports this year—it will be either that much or around it,” the minister added. “We don’t see a reason for concerns at this phase.”