Makarian: 32,000 tons of fruit and vegetable exported from Armenia

32 thousand tons of fresh fruit and vegetables have been exported from Armenia this year, as compared with 31,700 tons in the same period of last year, Deputy Agriculture Minister of Armenia Robert Makarian said at a press conference today.

According to him, 10,600 tons of fruit, including 10, 108 tons of apricots (4,480 tons in 2012), has been purchased. Both exports and purchases have grown.

15 processing companies, including 5-6 large ones, currently operate in Armenia. Speaking about procurement problems, the deputy minister said payments are mostly made within one or two days, while some enterprises sign agreements with farmers and pay them within 7-10 days.

As for apricot prices, R. Makarian said the prices are dictated by the market. He added that negotiations are being conducted with Yerevan Municipality to increase the number of fairs in the city.

In his words, the processing companies currently purchase hailstorm-hit apricots at 40-50 AMD per kilogram. The prices of export apricots are increasing. In Aragatsotn province, the price of export apricots is 600-700 AMD, the minimum price of such apricots is 200-250 AMD.