Epress.am News from Armenia
Armenia’s minister of agriculture Ignati Arakelyan is convinced that it is still too early to begin panicking or worrying about the price rises in the meat market; it is necessary instead to wait for year-end sum-ups, he told reporters Wednesday evening.
“Agriculture is a system that includes both herding and breeding; it is therefore very early to determine how the decline of one of these branches is reflected in agriculture. Such is the market – anything can happen; we should not panic because of these increases. The market will regulate itself,” Arakelyan insisted.
According to the minister, the increase in pork prices is linked with the higher prices in the international market, and the rise in lamb prices – with the export of the meat. Meanwhile, Arakelyan is convinced that beef has not gone up in price: “100-150 drams (around $0.2-0.3) is not a price rise? What kind of an increase is that?”
On October 10, the local Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper published data received from the State Food Safety Service, according to which, 3,186 head of cattle were exported from Armenia to Iran in September, while 5,086 head of small cattle were sent to Qatar. “This volume of exports has already led to an 8% price rise in the domestic market. Taking into account the significant growth in exports, it can not be ruled out that fresh meat in Armenia can become even more expensive,” the paper wrote.
In an earlier Facebook post, Yerevan-based culturologist Vardan Jaloyan also commented on the price rises, writing: “As far as I understand, the reason for the rises is financification, as well as the growth in exports. As far as financification goes, in the past, the villager engaged in cattle breeding for his needs, and sold the meat in accordance with purchasing power. It was not a market economy. Currently, however, the meat is sold according to the principle of profitability. The price was lower due to the villager’s self-exploitation.
“Note that the villager is not against self-exploitation, if it is compensated by other goods. This is in a sense a social barter economy.
“The second reason: meat in Armenia is much cheaper in comparison with many countries, it is therefore exported to these countries, nearing European prices.
“The third reason is that profit from the prices goes not to producers, but to some private owners who control the meat trade. This reduces the interest of producers, which correspondingly leads to reduced production.
“The government can easily control all three factors, hence they carry the entire responsibility [for the price rises].”
“The fourth and main reason is that no one really cares about the issue. Journalists write pathetic reports from villages to prove their compassion. Politicians talk about world trends, the intelligentsia – about the enormous creative potential of our people.”