Why are Bananas So Expensive in Armenia?

The price of bananas in Armenia starting at the end of 2013 began to grow steadily until this weekend when there was a sharp rise and now one kilogram of bananas costs 1000 AMD ($2.40 USD), reports local daily Haykakan Zhamanak. 

RA State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition member Aram Sahakyan told the newspaper that the rise in the price of bananas drew the Commission's attention weeks ago, and it asked Catherine Group — the company importing bananas owned by Chief Compulsory Enforcement Officer of the Republic of Armenia Mihran Poghosyan — to provide some information, in order to understand the reason for this situation. The Commission expects to get an answer from the company in the next week or two. 

Catherine Group, by the way, is the only company importing bananas to Armenia, the opposition newspaper reports. The newspaper's questions to the company were unanswered. 

The bananas sold in Armenia are among the most expensive in the world. For example, the average retail price for one kilo of bananas is 1 euro, or 570 Armenian dram. In some cases, for example, in high-end supermarkets, bananas cost at most 1.50 euros for a kilo. In Russia, a kilo costs $1.20 to $1.30, the same as in neighboring Georgia. In Armenia, as already mentioned, the lowest price per kilo is $2, whereas now it's $2.40.

"Specifically in the case of bananas, we are dealing with the 'charm' of the next monopolized market," concludes Haykakan Zhamanak.