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“The volumes of the RA foreign trade turnover continue to grow dynamically. It is noteworthy that these trends are observed in almost all directions of export and import,” the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration Vagharshak Hakobyan noted at the sitting convened on December 12.

The MPs discussed the current challenges of ensuring food security in our country in the context of the free movement of goods in the EAEU.

“According to the data of the RA Statistical Committee, the volume of the foreign trade turnover of Armenia amounted to 9.3 billion AMD during the first nine months of 2022, increasing by 62.5% compared to the same period last year,” Vagharshak Hakobyan noted.

He said that the positive dynamics of the foreign trade turnover was also recorded in 2021, increasing by 17.7% compared to the previous year. The Deputy Chair of the Committee informed that the volume of the trade turnover has increased both with the CIS and EAEU, as well as with the EU countries and the USA.

“During the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period of the last year, the volume of the trade turnover with the CIS countries increased by 75.4%, with the EAEU countries by 82.7%, with the EU countries by 38.4%, and with the USA by 2.1 times,” the MP noted and added that Russia continues to be the main foreign trade partner of Armenia in terms of trade turnover.

The volume of the mutual trade between Armenia and Russia has reached 3.2 billion AMD during the first nine months of 2022, exceeding the indicator of the previous year by 80.5%.

“According to the data of the RA Customs Service and our calculations, in the first half of 2022, the total of goods with the highest customs value exported in the foreign trade amounted to 1.5 billion AMD, of which $353 million were made up of food, alcohol and tobacco,” the Deputy Chair of the Committee underlined.

According to the RA Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan, the Government Programme for 2021-2026 includes the strategy for the development of the food security system and the measure related to the development of the action plan for 2022-2026. It was developed by the Ministry of Economy. It will be presented to the Government for discussion in the near future.

During January-October 2022, the volume of foreign trade turnover of agro-food products increased by 45.4% compared to the previous year. During January-December 2022, about 1 billion $97 million worth of agro-food products were imported, which increased by 46.5% compared to the previous year, and the exports amounted to $982 million. The Deputy Minister noted that the 12-month inflation will remain at a higher level than the target index in the near future, then it will gradually decrease and, according to the Central Bank, it will stabilize around the target index of 4% from the second half of 2023.

At the sitting, the MPs highlighted the cultivation of empty lands in the communities and their correct use. In this context, the Deputy Minister of Economy noted that the Government has started a program from 2022, aimed at increasing wheat sowing areas. “Last year, we had 55.000 ha of wheat sowing areas, thanks to the programme, this year their number has reached 67.500 ha,” the rapporteur informed.

The RA Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Armen Simonyan spoke about the existing problems in the field of cargo transportation. The rapporteur, in particular, referred to the overload at the Lars checkpoint and cargo control. He noted that the Georgian side is building a new 22 km road with 5 bridges and a 9 km tunnel in the Kveshet-Kobi section in order to bypass the part of Lars that becomes impassable in winter and switch to a 365-day regime.

Referring to the Agreement on Using Navigation Seals for Tracking Shipments within the EAEU, the RA Deputy Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Ashot Muradyan noted that 3 countries has already ratified. The agreement is aimed at reducing state control measures during transportation of goods and ensuring legal circulation. “We already have an agreement with our Russian partners and we will try to implement it the day before,” the rapporteur underlined. Speaking about the advantages of using navigation seals at the checkpoint, the rapporteur stated that Russia and Belarus actively cooperate in this matter and receive great benefits.

“In the current year, an indicative balance of agricultural products was drawn up in order to ensure the stability of the domestic markets of the EAEU member states. It is a good tool to quickly exchange information on supply needs,” the RA Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mnatsakan Safaryan said.