The Armenian Republic is one of the poorest in the post-Soviet space. However, even in this country there is a certain economic potential, which has not yet been fully disclosed. Today, we will consider in detail the industry of Armenia.
Historical reference
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Armenian economy turned out to be practically unsustainable, and therefore the situation in this country is the most difficult, if we compare all the states of the Caucasus. From a powerful agrarian and industrial power, Armenia was transformed into a small country, which could not boast of any natural resources, nor a good geographical position, nor a fertile earth layer.
Having no gas, no oil, or even access to the sea, the Armenians also fell into the economic blockade. And all because the enterprises of Armenia because of the Nagorno-Karabakh armed confrontation were literally cut off from Turkey and Azerbaijan, and because of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict - from the Russian Federation, because initially all freight traffic was previously carried out precisely through the Abkhaz railway .
Way out of the crisis
In 1991, privatization started. First of all, agricultural land went into private hands , then small and medium-sized industrial enterprises, and in 1995 large industrial facilities were also sold at auction.
Even more, the Armenian industry began to gain momentum after the armistice with Azerbaijan in 1994, thanks to which funds were received from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. This allowed to reduce inflation and increase the growth of gross domestic product.
Vectors of economic development
Today, Armenia is an industrial-agrarian state. The mill management pays close attention to agricultural small commodity products. The country's GDP structure briefly looks like this:
- Agriculture - 31.1%.
- Industry - 21.8%.
- Trade - 8.7%.
- Construction - 8.5%.
- Transport - 5.1%.
- The rest is 24.9%.
The leading industries are: chemical and petroleum, non-ferrous metallurgy, metalworking, engineering, production of building materials.
Village and people
Armenian agriculture has been developing for millennia. In general, this state was one of the first on the planet where land cultivation was started by people. If desired, here you can find 22 species and 218 subspecies of cereal crops.
Armenian agriculture in the 21st century is developing rapidly. So, for example, in 2010, the country cultivated 62% of land adapted for land, and in 2014 this figure was already 74%. In general, 46.8% of the entire country is suitable for agricultural use.
The Ararat Valley is considered the center of crop production of the state . This is due to the fact that there is a plain well warmed by the sun. About 2000 plant species are grown for fodder, but the main crops are clover, alfalfa, sainfoin.
Cattle breeding is also well developed in Armenia. In the country you can find rare animals that were domesticated many years ago. At the same time, the grazing of small cattle is excessive, which is why the area of natural fodder land has decreased significantly. And if in 1940 there were 14 million hectares, today it is already only 805 thousand hectares.
Special attention deserves fishing. Armenia is rich in carp, white silver carp, grass carp. Rainbow and lake trout and Siberian sturgeon are bred for sale. Amateur fishing is allowed in almost all available water bodies. The only exceptions are those water sources that are under state protection.
Atomic giant
The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant is located near the city of Metsamor. It has two power units. The first of them began its work in 1976, and the second in 1980. The leadership's plans were to create the third and fourth blocks, but the Chernobyl tragedy led to the curtailment of this plan.
On October 15, 1982, a severe fire broke out at the Armenian NPP at the first power unit, which was put out for seven hours. In the process of extinguishing, 110 people were involved. And in December 1988, after the earthquake in the city of Spitak, it was decided to completely stop the station. This made it possible to cut two holes in the walls of the first block and conduct special studies, the results of which showed that the operation of the unit is impossible in the future.
However, taking into account the economic and political situation in the country, the Armenian leadership decided to resume the operation of the NPP on November 5, 1995. As a result, the second power unit was launched, which stood on conservation for almost seven years. It is worth saying that after the restart of the station, harmful emissions into the surrounding atmosphere decreased by 2.5 times compared with the period before 1989. It was originally planned that the station would work until 2016, but in December 2014, the Minister of Energy of the Armenian state Zakharyan and the head of Rosatom Kiriyenko put their signatures on the agreement, which approved that the operation of the second power unit would be extended for another ten years, that is, until 2026. Thus, the energy sector of Armenia is very seriously dependent on the normal operation of the plant, which plays a key role in the formation of energy independence of the republic.
Interesting moments in the operation of nuclear power plants
The Armenian nuclear power plant was the first on the planet to use hydraulic shock absorbers manufactured by a Japanese company. In addition, the station’s specialists modeled the situation that caused the accident at Fukushima-1. The results of the audit showed that such risks did not threaten the activities of the Armenian station.
In the summer of 2009, the world's largest transport aircraft, the An-225, transported the largest cargo in the history of aviation - a 147-ton generator for nuclear power plants. The route was laid from Frankfurt to Yerevan.
Alcohol production
The main producer of alcoholic beverages in Armenia is Proshyan Brandy Factory. It was founded 130 years ago by the heir to the princely family Abgar Proshyan. This man was brilliantly educated, studied in Germany, and after returning to his homeland he took up the construction of a distillery on the territory of the Armenian Valley, because it is there that a unique grape variety grows, on the basis of which cognac is produced that glorifies Armenian cognac all over the world.
During the USSR period, the enterprise was held hostage to the political situation, when all the alcohols produced by this plant were forcibly transported to Yerevan due to centralized state planning. However, at the sunset of the 1980s, the Proshyan Brandy Factory was headed by a new leader, and the company regained its former glory and power.
Nowadays, the plant produces not only vodka and cognac, but also original fruit wines made from quince, blackberry, and cherry. At the same time, the enterprise is the absolute leader of Armenia in the production of cognac in the country and works closely with foreign partners. Due to this, the volume of exports to the USA, Greece, Korea, and Israel has significantly increased. And in March 2008, the Moscow branch of the plant was opened.
Gas industry
The closed joint-stock company Gazprom Armenia is wholly owned by the Russian PJSC Gazprom. The Armenian subsidiary of a Russian company is an absolute monopolist in the gas market of Armenia. On the whole, the gas distribution system of the republic totals about 14,902 kilometers of gas pipelines. By the way, the country's gasification rate is 95%. At the same time, almost 80% of Armenia’s automotive equipment operates exclusively on natural gas.
Metallurgical industry
The industry of Armenia has non-ferrous metallurgy as one of its main vectors. According to experts, the country has about 9% of all world molybdenum reserves. To enrich the copper-molybdenum ore, giants such as the Zangezur and Agarak mining and processing plants, Kapan mining and processing plant are used.
The country also has Zodskoye and Megradzorskoye gold deposits, which are being developed jointly with Canadian companies. The enrichment of gold ore is carried out at the Ararat gold processing plant.
As for ferrous metallurgy, the industry of Armenia does not depend too much on it, since this area is auxiliary for the country. There are only two enterprises in this direction in the state: the Yerevan Experimental Industrial Plant, specializing in the production of magnetic iron for instrument making, and the Tumanyan Refractory Plant.