The Armenian Jewelers Association (AJA) has invested over $10 million in organizing a jewelry exhibition in Yerevan, deputy minister of economy Dikran Harutyunian said on Thursday, reports “Arka”.
Titled “Yerevan Show 2014” the exhibition will be held October 25-28 in Yerevan.
According to Harutyunian, the exhibition is designed as a platform for Armenian jewelers worldwide to present their products to foreign buyers.
The deputy minister said more than 200 potential buyers from various countries have expressed desire to visit the exhibition. According to the deputy chairman of the Armenian Jewelers Association Berj Abajian, the purpose of this exhibition is to make Armenia a world jewelry center.
“To this end, we have invited the leaders of the world jewelry industry to Yerevan to participate in an industry forum to be held on October 27 as part of the exhibition” Abajian said.
Abajian also said that the exhibition will be attended by 150 representatives from 27 countries, including Armenia, Russia, USA, Canada, France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Turkey, UAE, UK, Lebanon, Kuwait, India, Jordan, Argentina, Japan, Belarus, Australia, Estonia, and several other countries.
In turn, the head of the Armenian Industry Development Fund Hayk Mirzoyan said in order to encourage participation of Armenian Jewelers in the exhibition, the Fund is ready to provide assistance to local producers and pay 50% of the cost of their participation.
The exhibition is organized by the AJA with the assistance of Industry Development Fund and the Ministry of Economy. The AJA is said to have about five thousand members worldwide.
Armenian diamond cutting companies produced 5.17 billion drams (approx. $12.6 million) worth of products in the first six months of 2014, about 95 percent of which were exported, deputy minister Harutyunian said at a news conference.
According to him, during this period, Armenian companies increased imports of raw diamonds from Russia, due to Russia’s decision to lift duties on export of raw diamonds to Armenia, while imports of raw diamonds from Belgium decreased.
“After Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union, Armenian jewelers will get a new opportunity to access a market of 150 million people,” said Harutyunian.
During the first half of 2014, Armenian companies exported $111.6 million of precious and semi-precious stones, metals and other articles, up 24.7 percent year-on-year, while imports of these types of goods grew by 23 percent to $157.5 million.
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