Coffee, Tea and Chocolate Festival in Yerevan: domestic sales of coffee and tea up 39.8%, chocolate up 26.6%
The 9th International Coffee, Tea and Chocolate Festival opened on October 3 at Seasons Park in Yerevan. This year 75 companies set up stands, up from 60 last year, and the increase is no accident. According to the Statistical Committee of Armenia, in the first half of 2026 Armenian producers of coffee, tea, chocolate and confectionery sold AMD 24.1 billion (about $64.4 million) worth of products on the domestic market, 35.4% more than a year earlier.
Coffee is growing fastest. Coffee and tea processors sold AMD 16.6 billion worth of products on the domestic market in six months, 39.8% more than in the first half of 2025 (AMD 11.9 billion). Prices are not the whole story: the physical volume of output rose 42.6%. Total sales reached AMD 20.6 billion (+50.1%). Exports are growing even faster: sales to CIS countries rose 2.2 times to AMD 3.8 billion, AMD 3.7 billion of it to the EAEU. That is why the domestic market’s share fell from 86.8% to 80.8%, even as it keeps growing in dram terms.
Chocolate and sweets are a little behind but growing too. Makers of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery sold AMD 7.5 billion worth of products at home, 26.6% more (AMD 5.9 billion). Total sales came to AMD 9.7 billion (+25.6%), and physical volume rose 7.3%. Sales to EAEU countries rose 12.3% to AMD 1.46 billion, and to other countries 55.7% to AMD 745 million. The domestic market’s share barely changed at 77.3% (76.6%).
Output and sales by industry, AMD billion
The bottom edge of each candle is January-June 2025, the top edge January-June 2026, AMD billion. Output at comparable prices (white candle) is compared with 2025 output at current prices. Source: Statistical Committee of Armenia.
Armenia is also bringing in more coffee. According to the State Revenue Committee of Armenia, the country imported 10,400 tonnes of coffee worth $53.5 million in the first half of 2026: 83% more in tonnes and 56.5% more in dollars than a year earlier. Coffee exports rose 76.1% to $25.5 million, and almost all of it, 97.5%, went to EAEU countries.
Chocolate imports rose 33.4% to $41.5 million, including $24.4 million from EAEU countries, while exports doubled to $13.8 million. Cocoa bean imports almost tripled, to 374.6 tonnes from 126.6. Tea is more modest: imports rose 9.2% to $1.98 million, and exports fell 30.5% to $303,000.
Exports by HS product group, $ thousand
| HS code | Product | Unit | January-June 2025 | January-June 2026 | Change in value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume | Value | of which EAEU | Volume | Value | of which EAEU | ||||||
| volume | value | volume | value | ||||||||
| 0901 | Coffee, coffee husks and skins, coffee substitutes | tonnes | 1,790.5 | 14,454.0 | 1,691.2 | 13,736.5 | 2,884.8 | 25,454.6 | 2,795.8 | 24,814.2 | +76.1% |
| 0902 | Tea | tonnes | 100.2 | 436.6 | 99.9 | 429.9 | 85.6 | 303.4 | 85.2 | 294.6 | -30.5% |
| 1803 | Cocoa paste | kg | 226.5 | 3.7 | 108.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -100.0% |
| 1804 | Cocoa butter, fat | kg | 24.0 | 0.9 | 24.0 | 0.9 | 125.8 | 4.8 | 12.0 | 0.4 | ×5.3 |
| 1805 | Cocoa powder | kg | 62.5 | 0.6 | 62.5 | 0.6 | 3,995.5 | 21.6 | 3,855.5 | 20.2 | ×36.0 |
| 1806 | Chocolate and other food containing cocoa | tonnes | 776.8 | 6,617.9 | 517.4 | 4,893.4 | 1,549.3 | 13,806.3 | 868.9 | 9,070.9 | ×2.1 |
| 2101 | Extracts, essences and concentrates of coffee, tea or maté | tonnes | 121.1 | 1,405.5 | 39.3 | 377.2 | 238.9 | 2,304.5 | 133.3 | 1,392.4 | +64.0% |
Source: State Revenue Committee of Armenia, preliminary data.
Imports by HS product group, $ thousand
| HS code | Product | Unit | January-June 2025 | January-June 2026 | Change in value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume | Value | of which EAEU | Volume | Value | of which EAEU | ||||||
| volume | value | volume | value | ||||||||
| 0901 | Coffee, coffee husks and skins, coffee substitutes | tonnes | 5,708.4 | 34,158.4 | 194.9 | 1,740.6 | 10,446.8 | 53,460.0 | 147.5 | 1,746.0 | +56.5% |
| 0902 | Tea | tonnes | 236.5 | 1,816.1 | 77.9 | 910.0 | 231.9 | 1,983.7 | 95.1 | 1,207.6 | +9.2% |
| 0903 | Maté | kg | 409.9 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 724.0 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 0.1 | ×2.0 |
| 1801 | Cocoa beans | kg | 126,602.7 | 1,541.5 | 4.0 | 0.1 | 374,581.1 | 1,966.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +27.6% |
| 1803 | Cocoa paste | kg | 20,009.1 | 321.5 | 8.0 | 0.7 | 14,364.4 | 124.5 | 154.4 | 4.3 | -61.3% |
| 1804 | Cocoa butter, fat | kg | 3,811.2 | 61.6 | 3,285.1 | 36.3 | 17,903.5 | 185.0 | 443.6 | 10.2 | ×3.0 |
| 1805 | Cocoa powder | tonnes | 635.1 | 4,452.4 | 43.8 | 249.4 | 434.8 | 2,746.9 | 39.1 | 254.5 | -38.3% |
| 1806 | Chocolate and other food containing cocoa | tonnes | 6,012.3 | 31,082.8 | 4,053.6 | 17,330.6 | 6,783.3 | 41,464.4 | 4,588.9 | 24,436.7 | +33.4% |
| 2101 | Extracts, essences and concentrates of coffee, tea or maté | tonnes | 1,072.6 | 6,565.5 | 772.0 | 3,942.8 | 1,274.1 | 8,531.7 | 827.4 | 4,889.3 | +29.9% |
Source: State Revenue Committee of Armenia, preliminary data. Volume in the units shown, value in $ thousand. Change: January-June 2026 vs the same period of 2025.
What is driving domestic consumption
Behind the numbers are people and businesses, so we asked festival participants what is driving the growth. At the De’Longhi Group stand we spoke with Mery Gevorgyan, the company’s team lead in Armenia. The company is at the exhibition for the third year, and she says the results are clear. Coffee machines are bought mostly for the home: “people like to have good, high-quality coffee at home.” Small offices buy them too.
Gevorgyan gave no exact figures but spoke confidently about growth: about 90% compared with last year, “every year we grow twofold.” Is it linked to people arriving from Russia after 2022? “We have always recorded growth, but I can’t single that out.” The statistics back her up: in six months, domestic sales of coffee and tea grew by almost 40%, and coffee imports by 83% in tonnes.
Instead of big advertising campaigns, the company relies on people: “We take an individual approach with every buyer.” De’Longhi representatives work in appliance stores and are trained twice a year and with every new model, “so they can present information to the buyer more accurately and the buyer can use the machine more easily.”
The Derzhava-S group of companies, which presents instant coffee, coffee and tea, has not missed a single festival, says marketing specialist Anna Movsisyan. She is convinced that customers’ word now works better than advertising: “Advertising is what the seller does to sell the product, while word of mouth comes from the consumer. If the consumer liked it and says so, it inspires more trust in others.”
She gave no growth figures, and her answer was short: “Armenians are a coffee-loving nation. There is always growth.” The company sells both to households and to HoReCa (hotels, restaurants, cafés), and in Movsisyan’s estimate HoReCa buys more: in a restaurant a person “has to have coffee and enjoy the moment,” while at home it is “however is convenient, whenever they have time.” Relocants contributed to the growth “to some extent,” she said. The products reach the regions too: “We always deliver, even to the smallest shop in the most remote areas.”
The festival is not only about coffee: stands offer local herbal and mountain teas, honey, sweets, dried fruit, zhingyalov hats flatbread and raspberry wine. Visitors can join tea ceremonies from Vietnam, China, India and Korea. The first day hosts the Armenian Barista Championship: in 25 minutes each contestant must make 4 espressos, 4 cappuccinos, 4 cups of Armenian coffee brewed on sand and 4 cups of their own signature blend in front of an international jury. The festival, organized by Prom Expo, Check in Armenia and Azd, runs until October 4.
