In April, compared to April of the previous year, the economic activity index in Armenia experienced an unprecedented decline of 17.2 percent, and this, on a monthly basis, is the largest decline recorded since 2011, when Armenia’s economy also began to be measured by the economic activity index.
According to data published today by the Statistical Committee, this April, when the economy was essentially closed due to the coronavirus, a decline was recorded in all sectors of the economy: in the construction sector by 51 percent, domestic trade turnover decreased by 33.1 percent, the volume of services (excluding trade) by 15.9 percent, industry recorded a decline of 8.6 percent, exports by 30.3 percent, imports by 27.4 percent, and agricultural data were not presented.
The previous month, in March, compared to March 2019, the economic activity index had also recorded a decline, but with an incomparably smaller figure of 4.4 percent.
According to Hayk Kevorkyan, a deputy of the ruling “My Step” faction in the National Assembly and a member of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, what happened was expected: “I expected that April would be the month recording the largest decline. I think something similar will also be recorded in May, but I am convinced that it will be the lowest point of the curve, that is, April-May will be, as they say, the bottom, after which the indicators will begin to rise, of course they will not recover quickly, within a few months, but the curve will begin to rise.”
About a month ago, at a government meeting, the executive’s forecast was published, according to which Armenia’s economy will close this year with a 2 percent decline. At the same time, due to the coronavirus, when the country’s economy was closed for weeks on end, the government announced that during the year it will take on 260 billion drams of additional debt, or more than 530 million dollars at today’s exchange rate.
