Epress.am News from Armenia
Armenia's newly adopted Constitution supposedly envisages changes in the sphere of economic competition which would address the issue of abuse of dominant position by businesses. Local Haykakan Zhamanak daily business and economic reporter Hayk Gevorgyan, however, said in a press conference at Yerevan-based Media Center today that he did not believe these new constitutional amendments would promote any improvements in the field.
“What prevented the old Constitution from stopping abuses of dominant position. If there's no will, this new Constitution will also be unable to change anything,” Gevorgyan said.
According to a recent study conducted by the World Bank, the reporter noted, Armenia has the most monopolized economy in the region. There are still numerous unaddressed issues in the field, he added, such as the banana market, which is yet to be investigated.
“For example, in Moscow, a kilo of bananas costs 60 rubles (about AMD 420), while [Armenian supermarkets] sell it for twice as much – 870 drams. Why is the difference in banana prices so huge in two countries of the same economic zone? After joining the Eurasian Economic Union, Armenia shouldn't have had to pay customs duty, so a kilo of bananas should cost 550 drams in Armenia at most.”
Alternative imports, as stated by Gevorgyan, are not encouraged in Armenia: “There's one banana importer – Catherine Group – which belongs to [head of Armenia’s Compulsory Enforcement Service] Mihran Poghosyan. And no one looks into the banana market because they are afraid.”