Apricot embarrassment, or Armenian happiness: cheaper in Moscow than in Yerevan

The export of apricots, according to the most conservative estimates, exceeds half of the total volume of fruits exported from Armenia, and therefore is always in the public spotlight. The Ministry of Economy of the republic cheerfully reported that, as of mid-July, more than 64.5 thousand tons of apricots were harvested in the country, of which slightly more than 29 thousand tons were exported (as of August 1 last year, only the export of this fruit exceeded 88.6 thousand tons). In general, according to the ministry, 10% more fruits and berries were exported from Armenia than in the same period of 2023.

In this regard, the Voice of Armenia newspaper considers it noteworthy that the Ministry of Economy refers to operational information.

"It turns out that if the data is painted by the Ministry of Economy and the government (Nikol) Pashinyan as a whole, then there is much more faith in them? Information from The Statistical Committee and especially the customs authorities of the State Revenue Committee, for obvious reasons, deserve more confidence, but these departments do not publish separate data on the gross yield of apricots, and the latter are included in the same group with other fruits and berries. The figures presented by the Ministry of Economy are hard to believe for another reason. The fact is that the gross agricultural output for the 1st half of this year (relative to the same period last year) increased by only 4%, so a natural question arises: how is it possible, with such a modest harvest, only 4% more, to increase the export of fruits and berries by 10%?", - asked Today, on July 29, the author of the publication Ashot Aramyan asked a question.

If you listen to the former Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Armenia Ashot Harutyunyan, he warns about the threat of losing not only the fruit and vegetable market, but also the entire agricultural sector as a whole. The reason is the uncoordinated work and the unprofessional approach of government agencies.

One of the farmers in the Armavir region of Armenia (in the Ararat Valley, the apricot harvest has been completed), said that he handed over his harvest of apricots of good commercial appearance to exporters for 300 drams ($ 0.77) per 1 kg, and worse — 150 drams. Meanwhile, in previous years he sold apricots for 500-600 drams per kg. According to him, heavy trucks of large exporting companies drive right up to the apricot orchards, and their employees sort the fruits themselves into containers (wooden boxes, plastic or cardboard boxes) with holes providing air circulation. Farmers only need to pluck the fruits from the trees for buyers.

"And when I complained about the prices of apricots in In Yerevan (1000 drams for 1 kg of fruits of good marketable appearance, 500 drams — of average quality, and 200 drams — for over-ripe apricots beaten by hail "for immediate eating"), the same Armavir farmer said that they simply do not have time to deliver the grown crop to the domestic market, so they dump such apricots to dealers So to speak, the first link is only 50 drams per 1 kg, after which, passing through several resellers' hands, they reach the above—mentioned price heights," Aramyan writes.

It got to the point that in Currently, Armenian apricots are sometimes cheaper in Russia (800-850 in drams per 1 kg) than in Armenia. This is facilitated by both the strong and absolutely unfavorable dram exchange rate for exporters, and the intensified competition in the Russian market with similar products from Uzbekistan and other countries.

As EADaily reported, earlier this month, Armenian experts questioned the data on the volume of apricot exports presented earlier by the Ministry of Economy of the republic. At the same time, it was pointed out that this fruit is losing its position in the largest Russian market for itself.