Armenia has exported a batch of flowers to the UAE, Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan announced, marking a step towards diversifying export markets as Russian restrictions continue to affect Armenian agricultural exports.

It is unclear exactly when the first batch of flowers was sent to the UAE, with Papoyan later clarifying that throughout 2026, Armenia exported 204,500 flowers to the UAE, with 41,900 being sent just these last two months.

The latest delivery followed a meeting held on 16 July between Armenian Deputy Economy Minister Arman Khojoyan and a business delegation from the UAE, attended by representatives of Armenian businesses.

According to the Armenian government’s readout, the discussions focused on opportunities to export fresh vegetables and flowers to the UAE.

Aside from the greenhouse products, the Armenian side also ‘proposed exploring the possibility of exporting Armenian mineral water to the UAE’.

The following day, Khojoyan, along with UAE Ambassador Nariman Al Mulla and members of the business delegation, visited several greenhouse farms to ‘examine their production and export capacity, as well as packaging, cold storage, and logistics infrastructure’ in order to ‘assess cooperation opportunities on the ground’.

The shipment to the UAE has come as Armenia seeks alternative markets following Russia’s restrictions on imports and transit of a wide range of Armenian agricultural products, including fruits, vegetables, mineral water, and fish.

The measures intensified in the run-up to Armenia’s June parliamentary elections and were widely viewed both in Armenia and abroad as an attempt by Moscow to exert economic pressure on Yerevan.

On 17 July, Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) requested that Iran’s Plant Protection Organisation suspend the certification of flowers intended for export to Russia.

The agency claimed that while phytosanitary certificates identified Iran as the country of origin, ‘the physical characteristics and packaging of the goods are identical to those previously imported from Armenia’.

The certification suspension would remain in place pending bilateral discussions and clarification of the issue.

In June, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan criticised the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) over Russia’s restrictions, arguing that the bloc should answer whether it still functions according to its founding principles, which guarantee the free movement of goods, services, labour, and capital.

‘Okay, there may be a problem for one month, two months, three months, but in the fourth month, if the problem still exists, it means there is no EAEU. If the EAEU declares that it does not exist, what are we supposed to do?’, Pashinyan questioned.

To address the restrictions, the Armenian government has introduced several support programmes to help exporters diversify into new markets.

The EU has also stepped in, announcing temporary trade measures that would provide ‘tariff-free access for 80% of Armenia’s exports to the EU’, complementing the €52 million ($59 million) assistance package unveiled in June.

Armenian authorities recently further announced that Armenia now has the unprecedented opportunity to export fish and fish products to the EU.