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Exports and re-exports of gold and jewelry continued to drive export growth in Armenia, the World Bank said in its monthly economic update for June 2024.

Exports of goods increased 2.9-fold (yoy) in April 2024, driven by a 10- fold increase in exports of precious and semiprecious stones, whose share of total exports rose from 24 percent in April 2023 to 82 percent in April 2024, the report said.

On the other hand, the import of precious and semiprecious stones increased by more than 20-fold, resulting in a net import balance of this commodity group at the value of $1 billion. Except exports of agricultural products (both livestock and vegetable), paper products, and minerals, other exports experienced significant declines, particularly machines and transport vehicles.

Excluding the export of precious and semiprecious stones and machineries and vehicles (the two top re-exports last year), total exports in April grew by only 3.6 percent (yoy). The top export destination remained the United Arab Emirates, the destination for the bulk of gold and jewelry exports. Imports remained strong (growing three-fold in April, yoy), also due to precious and semiprecious stones.