Russia, China, Switzerland, Germany and Bulgaria are Armenia’s largest trading partners.

Together they comprise 52% of Armenia’s foreign trade.

In 2017, Bulgaria, fifth on the list, took in 12.8% of total Armenian exports, but only accounted for 1% of Armenia’s imports.

In 2017, trade volume between the two nations rose by 75.2%. amounting to US$ 327 million. Most of the increase was due to greater Armenian copper exports to Bulgaria.

Last year, Armenian exports to Bulgaria increased by 87.8%, and Armenian imports from Bulgaria rose by 18.9%

Bulgaria is one of the few countries with which Armenia enjoys a trade surplus. Armenia’s ore exports are the reason why. The same situation holds for Switzerland, China and Germany.

In 2017, Armenia exported $286 million worth of goods to Bulgaria; the largest dollar amount in the last ten years.

As for Armenian imports from Bulgaria, they reached a pinnacle in 2008 at $118.6 million. The low point was 2014 - $25.5 million. They’ve been creeping up since.

Over the past few years, most of Armenia’s copper exports have gone to Bulgaria, China, Switzerland, Georgia and Germany.

Armenia exported some $152 million in copper ore to Bulgaria in 2016. In the first half of 2017, of the $133.8 million in goods Armenia exported to Bulgaria, $133.6 was copper ore.

Of the $15.4 million in goods that Armenia imported from Bulgaria in the first half of 2017, $5.6 million was oil and oil products, $1.5 million – clothes, and $1.3 million – detergents and cleansers.

In February of this year, during his visit to Sofia, Armenian President discussed economic matters with Bulgarian President Romen Redev, noting that while trade volumes had increased of late, the potential for greater commerce existed.