is a small, landlocked nation in the lower Caucasus Mountains that shares
borders with Turkey, Iran, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. Armenian trade is
characterized by a significant trade deficit driven by a reliance on energy and
advanced manufacturing imports, mainly from Russia. The majority of exports meanwhile
are comprised of metals and low-value products destined for Russia and a few
select European markets. A member of the WTO since 2003, Armenia has expanded
its trade relations through PTAs with Europe and the US and by participating in
the CIS free trade agreement. Although it was negotiating an association
agreement with the EU, Armenia has instead decided to pursue further
integration with its CIS partners through the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan customs
union. Despite significant progress and potential, Armenian trade is still
hampered by weak competitiveness, low productivity, limited financial access,
cumbersome regulatory and business environments, and underdeveloped physical, institutional,
and quality management infrastructure.
Notes: Top 20 products listed in decreasing order of their export potential to the world. Development indicators are relative to the country’s current situation, green indicating performance above its trade-weighted median and red otherwise. A blank cell indicates that data are not available. A blank cell in export potential means that the product was not consistently demanded over five years by any country in the respective region. Exports (US$ thousand) correspond to average exports to the world over the period 2009-2013.