ARMENIAN GDP GROWS 10 PER CENT IN JANUARY

ARMENPRESS
Feb 21, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS: Armenia’s Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) rose 9.9 per cent in January 2008 amounting to 101.3 billion
Dams at market prices, according to early numbers released by the
National Statistical Service (Armstat).

In 2007 Armenia’s overall GDP amounted to 3.1 trillion Drams,
registering nearly a 14 percent growth over the previous year.

Armstat said industrial output in January, energy production included,
rose 9.9 percent to almost 52 billion Drams. Last year’s overall
industrial output was 716.5 billion Drams, 2.6 percent higher than
in 2006. But diamond cutting not counted the industrial growth this
January was only 1.9 percent.

Armenian power generating facilities produced 664 million
kilowatt/hour electricity in January, almost 8 percent more than in
2007 January. Last year’s aggregate power production amounted to 5.9
billion kilowatt/hour.

Agricultural GDP rose 0.2 percent to 13.7 billion Drams. In 2007
agricultural GDP made 644 billion Drams, 9.6 percent more against 2006.

In January 2008 investments in construction sector, the driving
force behind double-digit continued growth, made 7.3 billion Drams,
almost 80 percent more than in 2007 January. Last year investments
in this booming sector rose to almost 670 billion Drams, marking a
20 percent growth over 2006.

Retail trade this January was 58 billion Drams, growing 10 percent
over the 2007 January. Last year it made almost 935 billion Drams.

In January there were 72,300 officially registered jobless people,
down from 75,100 in January of 2007.

Armenia’s foreign trade in 2008 January grew 30 percent to $3337
million.