Armenia reduces cement exports, imports rise

Armenia cut its cement exports 2.5-fold to 73,000t in 2014, down from 185,200t in 2013, according to a report by ARMINFO News (Armenia). It also increased its imports 2.2-fold, according to the Customs Service of Armenia.

The Ministry of Economy said that cement exports fell dramatically in 2014 as a new cement plant started up in Rustavi, Georgia –  key consuming country of Armenian cement exports.

The customs cost of the exported cement fell from US$11.8m in 2013 to US$4.6m in 2014, a factor of 2.6. In 2013, cement exports grew by 36 per cent YoY and imports doubled.

In 2014, Armenia imported 7500t of cement for US$1.2m compared to 3400t for US$615,200 in 2013. Some 98 per cent of the country's cement imports derived from Iran.

Cement production fell by 0.9 per cent in 2014 and construction sector shrank by 4.3 per cent to US$913m, according to the Statistical Service of Armenia. In the first quarter of 2015, the construction sector grew by a marginal 0.4 per cent.