In Armenia, low harvest and debts force farmers to abandon grape growing

In Armenia, some farmers have not yet got the money for grapes delivered past year to processing enterprises. Low harvest has caused additional damage to workers of the sphere. Many of the winegrowers interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have declared that they are ready to change the type of activity.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported about the protests of Armenian farmers in late 2015-early 2016. Winegrowers gathered in front of the government building in Yerevan and blocked roads. They demanded from processing enterprises to take their grapes and then pay off the debts.

Farmers from the village of Kakhtsrashen of the Ararat Region have claimed that until present, the processing enterprises have not yet paid off their debts, and thus, the winegrowers are not going to take their harvest to local processing enterprises. They intend to send grapes for export.

Farmer Andranik Movsisyan has added that because of the problems with selling the past year's harvest and receiving money for the sale, many of the winegrowers feel hopelessness and claim that the growing of grapes loses its meaning, and, if the situation repeats every year, it will be unprofitable to grow grapes.

The problems with selling of grapes are often associated with low quality of the harvest, believes Artak Sargsyan, the chairman of the Armenian Union of Winegrowers. According to him, the farmers find out that in addition to the volume, it is also necessary to ensure the quality of grapes.

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