NERSES YERITSIAN: GROWTH OF FOOD PRICES WILL PROMOTE PRODUCTION OF FOODSTUFFS IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
March 20, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The high growth rates of food prices in
Armenia are exclusively conditioned by the inflation in international
market, the RA minister of trade and economic development Nerses
Yeritsian stated in the National Assembly on March 19.

According to him, a special interdepartmental group was set up two
months ago, and it examines prices in the international and domestic
markets every week. 6 foodstuffs whose prices are rising most rapidly:
wheat, flour, rice, granulated sugar, vegetable oil and butter have
been selected for observation. The growth rates of rice, flour and
vegetable oil prices are especially high.

The minister said that at the moment the price growth in Armenia
is three times lower than in international market, which is due to
long-term contract relations of importers. In particular, flour and
vegetable oil prices have risen by over 50%, rice prices – by over 70%
in international market, and this growth is continuing.

In the words of N. Yeritsian, the government’s task is to supervise
so that the transfer to international prices will be a smooth one,
while taxes from inflation and import will be collected in full and
allocated to vulnerable groups.

The minister said that the price growth allows to speed up the
implementation of the food security program. In his words, the
inflation should promote production of foodstuffs of strategical
importance as the high international prices and the cheap labor
on the domestic market will allow to expand the production of such
foodstuffs. "It is the most rapid solution, it may bring results this
year," he stated.