The 90s Are Back: Financial Times on Car Exports from Armenia to Russia

In January of last year, Armenia imported nearly $3 million worth of cars from the United States. Now, a year later, imports have grown almost tenfold. This is reported by the Financial Times.

According to the article, in April 2023, Armenia imported $34 million worth of American cars.

"Armenia is not a car-producing country, but car exports from the small country to Russia have increased following the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict," the report states.

The article also notes that this has led to a significant economic "boom" for Armenia. Before the conflict began, Armenia imported $2.8 million worth of cars from the U.S. By one year later, that number has reached $29.5 million.

The report mentions that Russian consumers have turned to third countries in search of goods that have left the Russian market due to Western sanctions. Such countries include Armenia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan.

"This business has existed for a long time. It was very common in the 90s when the official market was not yet developed," the author points out, referring to the period immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union when trade was often conducted covertly.

"Now we are going back to those days," the article states.