Shipping from Armenia to Russia Decreases: What is the Reason?

The number of freight transport requests from Armenia to Russia has decreased by 30% in 2024, while there has been a significant increase in requests towards Belarus (+73%). This was announced by the international freight exchange "ATI.SU".

Statistics for 2024 indicate a decline in demand for international road freight transport in Armenia, with both export and import activities decreasing. Requests for transport from Armenia to other countries, submitted to the "ATI.SU" freight exchange, have decreased by 22% compared to 2023, while prices have dropped by an average of 7%.

Demand for transport to Russia has decreased by nearly one-third, despite the fact that a large portion of freight transport from Armenia is directed to Russia. Prices for road freight transport towards Russia have also fallen by 12%.

Demand for transport to Central Asian countries has also decreased. In contrast, a certain level of activity has been observed towards EU countries.

At the same time, Sergey Mkrtchyan, the director of the Armenian representative office of "ATI.SU," noted that Russia remains Armenia's largest trading partner, and the decrease in demand for international road freight transport is not an indicator of a decline in foreign trade activity.

"The volume of Armenia's foreign trade has increased 1.5 times in 2024. Trade with Russia has reached a record 12 billion dollars, surpassing last year's figures by 70%. The only ground route for road transport passes through the Verin Lars checkpoint. This 'bottleneck' hinders the development of international freight transport. There are often traffic jams there, and trucks can remain blocked for several days due to bad weather. Since a significant portion of exports consists of fruits, vegetables, and food products, suppliers are trying to avoid long wait times and the risk of spoilage of their cargo," Mkrtchyan said.