Year over year, the overall value of Armenian exports grew by 18.3% compared to $2.5 billion during 2020.
The top 5 most valuable exports from Armenia are copper ores or concentrates, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and cigars, iron ferroalloys, then unwrought gold. Collectively, those 5 export products represent over half (53.1%) of Armenia’s revenues from its exports during 2021.
Armenia’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 87.9% of products exported from Armenia were bought by importers in: Russia (26.9% of Armenia’s global total), mainland China (13.2%), Switzerland (12.1%), Bulgaria (6.7%), Netherlands (6.4%), Iraq (6%), India (4.3%), United States of America (2.7%), Germany (2.6%), United Arab Emirates (2.5%), Georgia (2.24%) and Iran (2.2%).
From a continental perspective, 63.5% of Armenia’s exports by value were delivered to European countries while 33.4% were sold to importers in Asia. Armenia shipped another 2.9% worth of goods to North America.
Smaller percentages went to Latin America (0.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Oceania mostly Australia (0.042%) and Africa (0.036%).
Given Armenia’s population of 2.962 million people, its total $2.97 billion in 2021 exports translates to roughly $1,000 for every resident in the Western Asian country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $850 per capita one year earlier during 2020.
Armenia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Armenian global shipments during 2021 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Armenia.
- Ores, slag, ash: US$923.2 million (31.1% of total exports)
- Gems, precious metals: $333 million (11.2%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $291 million (9.8%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $249.8 million (8.4%)
- Iron, steel: $201.1 million (6.8%)
- Aluminum: $133.8 million (4.5%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $129 million (4.3%)
- Fruits, nuts: $64 million (2.2%)
- Fish: $63.4 million (2.1%)
- Vegetables: $57.8 million (1.9%)
Armenia’s top 10 exports accounted for 82.3% of the overall value of its global shipments.
The metals iron and steel represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 91.5% from 2020 to 2021.
In second place for improving export sales was unknitted and non-crocheted clothing or accessories via a 37.9% advance.
Armenia’s shipments of vegetables posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 35.2%.
The leading decliner among Armenia’s top 10 export categories was gems and precious metals, thanks to its -9.7% drop year over year.
From the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, copper ores and concentrates comprise Armenia ’s most valuable exported product at 24.5% of the country’s total. In second place were alcoholic beverages (8.3%) trailed by cigarettes and cigars (8%), alcoholic spirits and liqueurs (8%), iron ferroalloys (6.4%), unwrought gold (4.5%), molybdenum ores or concentrates (4.1%), thin aluminum foil (4%), unmounted and unset diamonds (3.5%), jewelry (2.5%), then fresh whole fish (1.9%).
Products Generating Armenia’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Armenian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Ores, slag, ash: US$921 million (Up by 26.1% since 2020)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $235.2 million (Up by 14.2%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $160.8 million (Up by 24.2%)
- Gems, precious metals: $84.6 million (Down by -62.4%)
- Iron, steel: $77.9 million (Reversing a -$3.8 million deficit)
- Fish: $53.8 million (Up by 16.1%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $49.5 million (Up by 46.0%)
- Vegetables: $34.3 million (Up by 42.4%)
- Aluminum: $16.5 million (Up by 513.4%)
- Live animals: $15.2 million (Up by 53.7%)
Armenia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of ores or concentrates notably those for copper, zinc, molybdenum and precious metals. In turn, these cashflows indicate Armenia’s strong competitive advantages under the ores, slag and ash product category.
Products Causing Armenia’s Largest Trade Deficits
Armenia incurred an overall -$2.3 billion trade deficit for 2021, expanding by 14.4% from -$2.1 billion in red ink one year earlier for 2020.
Below are exports from Armenia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Armenia’s goods trail Armenian importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$856 million (Up by 32.7% since 2020)
- Machinery including computers: -$481.2 million (Down by -5.5%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$353.3 million (Up by 8.8%)
- Vehicles: -$203.1 million (Up by 28.1%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$166.4 million (Up by 16.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$146.6 million (Up by 20.3%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$97.8 million (Down by -4.1%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$90.1 million (Up by 11.5%)
- Cereals: -$88.4 million (Down by -8.7%)
- Paper, paper items: -$81.8 million (Up by 1.4%)
Armenia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits notably for petroleum gases and refined petroleum oils under the mineral fuels including oil category.
Armenian Export Companies
Not one Armenian corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists export-related companies from Armenia. Selected examples are shown below.
- Ararat Cement (construction materials)
- Avshar Wine Factory (winery)
- Jermuk Mineral Water Factory (mineral water)
- Kotayk Brewery (alcoholic beverages)
- Multi Group Stone (stone works)
- Ucom (telecommunications)
- Yerevan Brandy Company (alcoholic beverages)
- Yerevan Computer Research and Development Institute (technology)
- Yerevan Confectionery and Macaroni Factory (food)
- Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum (metals)
In macroeconomic terms, Armenia’s total exported goods represent 6.8% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2021 ($43.4 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 6.8% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2021 compares to 6.4% one year earlier. Those percentages suggest an increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Armenia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Armenia’s unemployment rate averaged 18.5% for 2021, up from an average 18.1% in 2020 according to statistics from the International Monetary Fund.
Armenia’s capital city is Yerevan.
See also Zambia’s Top 10 Exports, Turkey’s Top 10 Exports, Russia’s Top Trading Partners, Switzerland’s Top Trading Partners and Top Asian Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Country Profiles, The World Factbook. Accessed on August 26, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 26, 2022
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity)
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 26, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 26, 2022
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on August 26, 2022
Wikipedia, Armenia. Accessed on August 26, 2022
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on August 26, 2022
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Armenia. Accessed on August 26, 2022
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on August 26, 2022
