ECONOMIST EDUARD AGHAJANOV: ARMENIAN ECONOMY IS DEVELOPING ABNORMALLY

Noyan Tapan
Aug 30 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia’s foreign trade deficit made
838 million dollars in the first half of 2007 against 511 million
dollars in the same period of 2006. The ratio of foreign trade deficit
to GDP made 31.7%, which shows that the country’s economy is developing
abnormally. Economist Eduard Aghajanov, former head of the National
Statistical Service of the RA, stated this at the August 30 discussion.

According to him, in the US, the fact that the ratio of foreign
trade deficit to GDP has reached 6-7% is considered as alarming,
whereas the Armenian authorities do not make the issue of reducing
such a high ratio a subject of discussion.

The speaker noted that many heads of the appropriate departments are
unaware of economic developments in Armenia: during interviews, they
present data that is considerably different from official statistics.

In his words, the process of reducing the capacities of processing
industry is taking place in Armenia because it has become profitable
to import many traditional industrial goods instead of producing
them locally.