In Armenia, winegrowers block motor road and demand to solve problem with purchase of harvest

More than one hundred farmers in trucks loaded with grapes have blocked the motor road Yerevan-Khor Virap. They have claimed that processing plants are returning to them a part of newly-harvested grapes because of poor quality.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 18, residents of the villages in the Ararat Region of Armenia blocked the motor road Ararat-Yerevan. They demanded to solve the problem with the purchase of the harvested grapes. According to the villagers, none of the processing plant does accept their grapes.

At the meeting with the farmers held on September 19, Gagik Tsarukyan promised to organize the purchase of grapes from the funds of his group of companies, for 150 drams (0.31 US dollars) per kilogram. On September 21, in Nor Amasia, the group of companies "MultiGroup", owned by Gagik Tsarukyan, the former leader of the "Prosperous Armenia" Party, began to purchase grapes.

According to farmer Masis Terteryan, on average, every sixth truck with the harvested grapes is returned, since the purchaser rejects it.

The Armenian Ministry of Agriculture has reported that the problem with the purchase of the harvested grapes from farmers is related to the decrease in export of products manufactured by local winemakers.

It should be noted that other republics of Southern Caucasus also raised the question with purchase of grapes. So, on September 11-12, in Georgia, winegrowers of Gurjaani held protest actions and demanded from the authorities to increase the purchase price for grapes.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.