YEREVAN, June 18. / ARKA /. Corruption and business oligarchs are two major obstacles for Armenian companies to enter the huge markets of the Eurasian Economic Union, the chairman of the National Union of Employers Gagik Makaryan said in an interview with the local daily Hayots Ashkhar.

“Corrupt businessmen make huge profits by selling their goods in Armenia; they use their own rules of game to settle all their problems. These businessmen simply fear external markets, where they may encounter certain risks, where one needs to be more educated, to have an understanding of management, and where their methods simply will not work,’ he said.

“Having a market  is one thing, but  using  it is quite a different thing,” said Makaryan, adding that one should not forget that these markets were available even before  Armenia’s joining the EEU, and  Armenian legislation did  not prevent  free trade with EEU member states.

“The quality of Belarusian goods is high enough, which means that not all of our products can be competitive there. Russia is Armenia’s second largest trade partner and most of Armenian products, except for metals which are sold to Europe, are sold in Russia. They are brandy, alcoholic beverages, jewelry, some devices, canned food, etc.”, said Makaryan.

With regard to the Kazakh market, he said, trade with this country leaves much to be desired, and there are several reasons.

“First of all, Kazakhstan is geographically quite distant from Armenia. Both countries are connected mainly by charter flights which complicates the development of their trade and economic relations,» he said.

“It is not a secret that the state of the Russian economy has a direct impact on Armenia, regardless of whether our country is a member of the EEU or not. Russia is our main partner. For example, Armenia’s trade with Belarus constitutes 0.8% of the total foreign trade, with Kazakhstan its 0.2%, while trade with Russia accounts for  24%,” he said.

According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia’s trade with Russia in 2014 amounted to $1.4 billion, having increased by 3.2% from 2013; trade with Belarus was worth $40.1 million, having slashed by 19% and that with Kazakhstan declined by 6.5% to $7.5 million.

Armenia’s foreign trade turnover with EEU member countries in January-April 2015 amounted to $223.9 million.

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