ARMENIA INCREASED EXPORT AND PROCESSING VOLUMES OF STONE FRUITS

Agricultural Marketing Project
July 23 2008
Ukraine

Due to high crop of apricot this year at the level of 70-75.000 tonnes
against 15.000 tonnes in 2007, exports of this fruit from Armenia,
following the operative data, totaled 7.183 tonnes against 772 tonnes
last year, reported Samvel Galstyan, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture
of the Republic, during the press-conference on July, 22.

In general, the Deputy Minister noted that this year Armenia succeeded
to exceed the export volumes of other crops. Following the recent data,
exports of peaches totaled 9.500 tonnes against 2.100 tonnes, plums-
398 tonnes against 6 tonnes in 2007.

"As you can see export volumes sufficiently exceed last year indices,
that is stipulated by high stably harvest this year. Last year early
spring frosts caused serious losses of apricot particularly which
harvest was too small", noted the official.

At that, Galstyan reported that Armenian processing enterprises have
purchased 6.140 tonnes of apricot this year.

According to his data, over 20 processing enterprises purchased this
fruit, among them Artashatsk and "Borodino" canneries were the leaders
having purchased more than 2.000 tonnes of apricot. The Deputy Minister
noted that CJSC Euroterm also carried out large purchases. The share
of other companies totaled from 15 to 500 tonnes.

The Deputy Minister informed that the average purchasing price for
apricot totaled $0.18-0.33/kg, at that, some private entrepreneurs
purchased apricot locally from the farmers at $0.13/kg and then sold
to the processing enterprises at $0.18/kg.