Current trends in the development of light industry: the world, the EAEU, Armenia

For many developing countries, the light industry has become one of the drivers of their rapid economic growth in recent decades. The advantages of developing the light industry, on the one hand, are based on the labor intensity of the manufactured products, that is, the employment problem is partially solved, on the other hand, the light industry requires high-tech equipment, a developed chemical industry, agriculture, etc., and, thus, can be considered as a growth factor for other sectors of the economy. In the sectoral structure of the EAEU economy, Russia accounts for the prevailing share in the light industry, but Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are the leaders in terms of the share of light industry products in the products of the entire manufacturing sector of each country, which indicates a higher significance of this industry for their economies. In terms of export volumes of light industry products, Armenia ranks second in the EAEU (21% of the exports of the Union countries), mainly due to the wearing apparel sector (33% of the EAEU volume). The calculated values of the import penetration index for the wearing apparel and leather products sectors in Armenia exceed 1, which indicates re-export. Analysis of the dynamics of production and export volumes of light industry products in Armenia indicates an increase in the importance of this sector in the countrys economy, as well as a growth of the role of the EAEU countries markets in Armenian export flows. The conducted study allowed us to assume the existence of opportunities for creating the light industrys clusters in the EAEU with the participation of Armenian manufacturers.