ArmenPress
April 21 2004

ARMENIA’S ECONOMY GROWS STEADILY

YEREVAN, APRIL 21, ARMENPRESS: Armenian national statistical
service said the GDP volume in the first quarter of the year grew by
7.5 percent against the same time span of last year amounting to
223.7 billion Drams. The GDP growth in March against February was
21.3 percent, it said.
The volume of industrial production in terms of money in the first
three months of 2004 was 114,532,000 Drams (indirect taxes not
counted). The growth rate of industrial production in the first three
months of 2004 was 2.8 percent over the same time span of last year.
The growth rate in March against February amounted to 20.1 percent.
The volume of electricity produced in the first quarter was 1.75
billion kw/per hour, a 7.1 percent increase over the first quarter of
last year. The volume of agricultural growth (indirect taxes not
counted) in the first quarter of 2002 stood at 35.2 billion Drams, a
6 percent growth against 2002 January and a 31.2 percent growth
against February 2004.
According to Armen Avetisian, the chief of state customs
committee, the volume of exports in the first quarter of 2002 was 85
billion Drams against 78 billion Drams in the first quarter of 2003.
The volume of imports in the same time span amounted to 164
billion Drams against 148 billion Drams in the first quarter of 2003.
Avetisian also said that the collection of import duties met the
projected targets in the first quarter of this year despite the
political crisis in the country, amounting to 24.8 billion drams
($44.6 million) or 4 percent more than projected by the government
budget.
Earlier the state taxation service reported that it collected 28.3
billion drams in first-quarter revenues, up from 23.5 billion drams
collected during the same period last year.
Armenia’s 2004 budget projected 257 billion drams ($460 million)
in tax and customs revenues.