ARMENIAN FARMERS PROTEST FALLING GRAPE PRICES

Asbarez Staff
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Sep 23rd, 2009

ARTASHAT (RFE/RL)-More than a hundred angry farmers in Armenia’s
wine-growing Ararat region rallied late Tuesday to protest against
a sharp cut in the cost of grapes which they said is planned by wine
and brandy companies.

The protesters, who own vineyards in more than a dozen local villages,
threatened to block a major highway leading to Yerevan as they
demonstrated outside the main government building in the regional
capital Artashat. The protest followed rumors that at least one of the
wine distilleries has decided to cut the purchasing price to 80 drams
(20 U.S. cents) per kilogram from last fall’s level of 110-140 drams.

Agriculture Minister Gerasim Alaverdian acknowledged that the
wine-growers’ concerns are not unfounded as he arrived in Artashat
for urgent talks with regional administration officials. He said
President Serzh Sarkisian will personally deal with the matter in
the coming days.

One middle-aged protester said that a representative of the
Yerevan-based Noy wine company has told him that the company will
buy 15 tons of grape from him for 80 drams per kilogram despite a
supply contract that set the price at 130 drams. "If I go to court,
they will jail me, not them," he claimed.

"I won’t sell my grapes for 80 drams," cried one of his neighbors. "I’d
rather dump it into the [river] Arax. Let the Turks take it and
distill vodka."

"They may sell a bottle of cognac for as much as 30,000 drams,"
reasoned another wine-grower. "If they buy grapes from us for 80 drams,
then why don’t they sell their cognac for 300 drams?"

Several representatives of the protesting farmers were allowed
into the administration building to discuss their grievances with
Alaverdian. They quoted the minister as saying that Sarkisian will
hold a special meeting with wine company executives this weekend and
urging the farmers to "stay patient" until then. The crowd reluctantly
agreed to disperse after that.

"We need to bring clarity to the matter," Alaverdian told RFE/RL. "If
there was an agreement to take [grapes] for 130 drams then it should
be honored." He said that the farmers will be able to sell their
produce and that the only unresolved question is its price.

But some local farmers claimed to be having serious trouble finding
wholesale buyers. "The grapes are already ripening but I still don’t
know to whom to sell them," complained one man. "Wherever I go,
they refuse to buy it."

According to Agriculture Ministry projections, domestic production
of grapes, a major component of Armenia’s agricultural output, will
rise by over 10 percent to at least 205,000 tons this year. Deputy
Agriculture Minister Samvel Galstian told RFE/RL earlier this month
that more than two-thirds of the forecast harvest will likely be
purchased by local alcoholic drinks companies.

The largest of them, the French-owned Yerevan Brandy Company, has
already started storing grapes for 120-130 drams per kilogram. Most
of its supplies come from another southern region, Armavir.