ARMENIAN APRICOT SEASON NOT GOLDEN: YIELD DWINDLES, PRICES SOAR
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June 26 2007
The village of Jrashen in the Ararat province is surrounded by
fruit-bearing orchards, predominantly apricot. Usually, agricultural
work is in full swing here at this time of the year, but this June it
is tranquil. "There was a year when we started gathering apricots on
June 15, but this year we’ve nothing to gather at all. This apricot
is a matter of luck and also depends on the whims of weather," says
35-year-old local resident Janibek Nikoghosyan. "Many of the villagers
know they will have to live by borrowing until they see what happens
next year."
Half of the 500 households in Jrashen are engaged in apricot growing.
The rest cultivate grapes and grain crops. Nikoghosyan says he gets
about 15 tons a hectare if the year is good. Last year which was not
favorable he received a ton of apricot from a hectare, while this
year one can hardly get a dozen apricots from a tree.
His fellow villager, 51-year-old Margarit Harutyunyan brags that
Jrashen and neighboring Kaghtrashen are known to yield the tastiest
apricots in the whole province due to their sandy soil. "But this
year’s heavy rains prevented proper pollination. Every year we have
some trouble. I won’t pick even a kilogram of apricot from my huge
orchard," she says.
According to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture, every year the
country’s agriculture incurs a loss worth some 10-13 billion drams
(about $29-37 million) because of natural calamities. The spring
floods this year have already inflicted a loss of 420 million drams
($1.2 million). Rural economy specialists say 2-3 times less fruit
is expected this year.
"The apricot yield this year will make about 15,000 tons, compared
to 50,000 tons received last year. Apricot orchards in Armenia
cover an area of 9,000 hectares, of which 7,500 have fruit-bearing
trees, and 1,500 hectares are areas with newly planted orchards,"
Garnik Petrosyan, Head of the Department of Plant-Growing and Plant
Protection of the Ministry of Agriculture, says.
Nevertheless, farmers in the Ararat valley have no particular hopes
for apricot this year. Those who do have apricot will sell at a high
price. Everyone in Jrashen usually looks with envy at 77-year-old
Garnik Abrahamyan’s three-hectare apricot orchard. The old man says
last year he received 30 tons of apricot from his plot, this year he
will hardly get half that amount. Still it is more than most here.
"Re-sellers have already queued for apricot, especially those who
export the produce. I said I would not sell at a price lower than
500 drams per kilo. Now is the year of ‘hunger’ for apricot, and we
should make the best use of it."
Janibek explains that the heights on which orchards are planted make
the difference. Garnik’s orchards are situated lower. Apricot-trees
blossomed earlier and had time for pollination before heavy rains
started.
"The trees in my orchard blossomed a week later, and this is the
result. I understood that a smart person in this village should have
his orchards in several place," he says. Meanwhile, Margarit says
that the best apricot sort exporters are after is shalakh (a larger,
more favored variety).
"Trucks have already arrived to ‘reserve’ their right to buy it out.
Of course, the rarely-ripening apricot is already on sale and at a
rather high price. But I am so tired from these weather surprises
that I’ve made up my mind to sell my orchard, especially that I am
offered $25,000 for it," she says.
According to economist Tatul Manaseryan, the law of supply and demand
should be at work here. "But wild laws work in our country and prices
are simply dictated, which can’t be an example of classical economy,"
he says. Of course, the shortage of product will result in the growth
of the price, but not such a drastic one. According to him, the prices
for other fruits will be artificially raised on the market.
Vahagn Simonyan, 28, from the village of Lusagyugh in the Armavir
province, has a one-hectare watermelon garden. He says that watermelons
will fill the shortage of apricot. "And we, too, should use the moment
and sell at a higher-than-usual price," he says.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 8-9,000 tons of apricots
are exported annually, and some 5,000 tons are purchased by processing
companies. Petrosyan says that this year these figures will, of course,
go down, however there will be no astronomical prices.
"When apricot is ripe, the village cannot wait. Even from gusty winds
ripe apricot can fall, so whether they want it or not, they have to
take the fruit quickly to the market." Apricot sold for between 2,500
drams (about $7) and 5,000 drams (about $14) per kilo in Yerevan
in early June. Meanwhile, during the same period last year could be
bought for as little as 1,000 drams (about $2).
Margarit Harutyunyan says that last year the wholesale price for
apricot exporters was 300 drams (or about 90 cents) per kilogram. The
first yield was sold to local traders for a much higher price –
800-1,000 drams (approx. $2.5-3.0). And the retail market price for
apricot at the best time of the season was 250-300 drams (about 90
cents) or 400-500 drams ($1-1.5) the highest. Housewives in Armenia
must forget about apricot jams, stewed or dried fruits.
"We will hardly be able to afford to buy it twice for out kids
to get the taste of it, let alone paying such a high price for
apricot and then get it canned," says 42-year-old mother-of-three
Susanna Hambartsumyan. But grower Garnik, who has four children and
14 grandchildren, says he won’t sell his apricots — no matter what
the price is — until his kids have had their full share.
"The first yield will be until July 10. They will come and get as much
as they need. A person shouldn’t ‘eat’ his work alone. I give everyone
his share," he says proudly. And generally, according to Petrosyan,
the market will not feel the shortage of fruits. A big harvest of
peach, plum, pear, apple, nuts and grapes is expected.