Alina Hovhannisyan. "In the European markets, Armenia should promote the traditional varieties of Armenian cheeses – Chanakh and Lori," he said during a press tour in Yelpin (Vayots Dzor region), where the cooperative for the production of high-grade cheeses is located: EU Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Armenia Piotr Switalsky.

After tasting, the European diplomat noted that he was impressed with the taste and quality of the cheeses produced in the cooperative. At the same time, he expressed the hope that cheeses will find their consumers in the markets of the EU and EAEU countries. "Any market is good. But in the European there should be exclusively traditional Armenian cheeses, "he stressed.

Meanwhile, production today satisfies only the domestic market, and is represented on the shelves of metropolitan supermarkets. From next year, according to a preliminary agreement, the cooperative will begin to export a large batch of cheeses to the Russian Federation. "Every year, we provide about 35 tons of cheese from the produced milk with a tonnage of 250-300 tons of milk. From next year we want to increase production. In addition to Russia, we also think about deliveries to the markets of European countries, since we are in no way inferior in terms of quality indicators, "said the head of the cooperative.

To note, the cooperative was established in 2016 as part of the ENPARD program (European Neighborhood Program on Agriculture and Rural Development), which includes 18 farmers. The cooperative provided work for 7-8 people.

To recall the ENPARD program aims to assist Armenian cooperatives in the processing of agricultural products, and its implementation. The main partner of the program is the Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia. The project started in January 2015 and will end in November 2018. The ENPARD program was implemented in the Lori, Shirak, Gegharkunik, Aragatsotn, Kotayk and Vayots Dzor regions of the republic. -sh–