The commodity turnover between Armenia and Russia fell by more than 20 percent in 2009 as the world has been coping with its worst financial-economic crisis in decades, according to Russia’s trade representative in Armenia Alexander Zaytsev.

At a press conference on Wednesday (January 20), Zaytsev said that according to the official data of the Russian side, in 2009 the volume of commodity turnover between the two countries made about $710 million, while the same index exceeded $1 billion in 2008. Nevertheless, the expert expressed a hope that the pre-crisis commodity turnout will recover by 2012. Armenia’s main export items to Russia are brandy and some agricultural products (peaches, apricots), and Russia mainly exports flour, sugar, cereals to Armenia.

According to Zaytsev, the global crisis also impacted the level of Russian investments in Armenia’s economy, which made $300 million in 2009 – 35 percent less than in 2008. The total Russian investment in Armenia’s economy since 1991 has amounted to around $2.5 billion.

The amount of remittances from Russia to Armenia (mainly from migrant workers in Russia to families in Armenia) also decreased by nearly a third in 2009, making $900 million (against $1.4 billion reported for 2008). According to Russia’s trade representative in Armenia, the positive factor last year was the preservation of stability in the work of enterprises with Russian capital and the Russian side’s allocating credit means to Armenia to battle the effects of the crisis.

Last spring Russia issued a stabilization loan of $500 million to Armenia, its key strategic partner in the South Caucasus, so that the country can maintain its economy, in particular its small and medium-sized business sectors, in conditions of the deepening effects of the global recession. The loan is repayable in 15 years.