11:01,

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said Thursday that Russia’s ban on the imports of Armenian dairy products is a violation of the EEU trade regulations.

He said that Armenia is discussing the matter with Russian partners.

“We find this to be an obstacle for EEU trade,” Kerobyan said in parliament during question time when asked by MP Gegham Manukyan when the issue will be resolved. “We are now discussing this issue with our Russian colleagues. The ban placed by Rosselkhoznadzor [Russian governmental agriculture watchdog] contradicts the trade regulations in the Eurasian Economic Union. In addition, we are also engaged in talks to understand the regulations through which we can maximally swiftly resolve this issue without applying the EEU standard procedures,” Kerobyan said.

In response to the MP’s criticism over the government’s handling of the agriculture sector, Kerobyan said that agriculture is indeed a major sector but not the largest, while the dairy production isn’t the largest branch in agriculture itself.

Kerobyan said that in 2022 Armenia exported 18 million dollars worth of dairy products to the EEU market, which amounts less than 1% of the total exports of Armenia.

Russia banned on April 5 imports of dairy products from Armenia, saying that Armenian producers use Iranian raw materials banned in Russia.