Analysis of Armenian media from August 11th to 17th. Economy

The main economic themes of the Armenian media are the continuing decline in the Armenian economy and the abandonment of the profitable proposal by the Russian company Gazprom being disadvantageous for budget.

Has Armenia rejected the proposal of Gazprom?

According to Zhoghovurd, the Russian company Gazprom proposed to the Armenian government to reduce the price of gas supplied to the country by 20%, as they pay $30 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. "However, the Armenian authorities informed the Russian side that such an option is not desirable, as it would also be necessary to reduce the price of gas for consumers, which may lead to a reduction of taxes from the company Gazprom Armenia to the state budget taxes. In this case we are speaking about 8-10 billion drams a year. In terms of tax revenues, higher tariffs for gas are more advantageous for the government of Armenia,’’ the author wrote. "However, Gazprom is interested in this issue, as in the case of a reduction of the tax liabilities of the subsidiary company Gazprom Armenia, the Russian company has more to gain than to lose. Nevertheless it, discussions about the gas tariff were not official and they were not in a documented format. However, Zhoghovurd tried to receive comments from the ministry of energy and natural resources, and in response to our question the press service of the ministry responded as follows: "Information on the reduction of tariffs for gas supplied to Armenia amounting to 20% or $30 per 1,000 cubic meters meters of gas does not correspond to reality. Moreover, in the course of negotiations with Gazprom about the gas tariff, the Armenian government has always tried to minimize it," the publication informs.

 

s Armenia losing foreign exchange reserves?

"Armenia's foreign reserves amounted to a total of $1 billion 589 million in July this year. It is the lowest level of external reserves of the country in the last 9 years," Haykakan Zhamanak reports. "In recent years Armenia's external reserves are at a very low level. For example, during the second half of the year Armenia's foreign reserves amounted to more than $2 billion. In 2010-2014  they were $1.8-$1.9 billion per month. In 2015 they reduced with some fluctuations to $1.5-$1.6 billion, but the worst thing is that the external debt increased in parallel with the decline in external reserves. In mid-2009, it amounted to $2.4. billion, in the middle of this year the figure was already $4.4 billion," the publication reports.

Is Russia bankrupting Armenian farmers?

"This year Armenian farmers who grew potatoes faced the fact that they failed to sell their harvest,’’ Zhoghovurd reports. "The thing is that in the first half of this year alone, Armenia imported as food 3 thousand 750 tons of potatoes for human consumption, and imported virtually the same amount of potato seeds. As a result, villagers who produced domestic potatoes were forced to sell their products at the highest price of 100 drams (about 13.5 rubles) per kilogram,’’ the newspaper reports. By the way, it became known that the potatoes were imported mainly from Russia – 2,358 tons. According to the volume of imports, Egypt was in second place, with 889 tons of potatoes. This situation proves once again the ‘spinelessness’ of the current authorities of Armenia,’’ the author concluded." "In the end, it is also clear that large volumes of imports to Armenia will cause the bankruptcy of the villagers in such circumstances. The role of government agencies is to protect domestic producers, rather than the business interests of a few individuals,’’ the newspaper concludes.

Fair for citizens without money

An MP of the RPA parliamentary faction, Arakel Movsisyan, intends to open a fair of agricultural products near the Yerevan-Etchmiadzin highway not far from Zvartnots Airport, Zhoghovurd reports. The newspaper tried to clarify this information from Arakel Movsisyan. He confirmed this information. "I'm not building it myself, but I'm managing the construction so that people in the region can sell their goods without paying money for a place in the market. Am I doing something wrong?!" the edition cites him as saying.

Company of Deputy Minister of Defense will deal with weapons

During the next meeting of the government it will approve a draft decision on granting a license for a period of three years for the production of weapons by Aspar ARMS. The project was prepared and signed by the chief of the Armenian Police, Vladimir Gasparyan, Haykakan Zhamanak reported. "The company will have to produce civilian weapons, ammunition, and it should have the right to repair weapons. Gas teargas guns are considered to be civilian weapons. We tried to receive a comment on this from the police, but we were informed that it was necessary to submit a written request. According to our information, the company Aspar ARMS belongs to a former deputy defense minister of Armenia, ARF representative Arthur Aghabekyan. We tried to get a comment about the company from Aghabekyan, but he did not respond to our phone calls," the newspaper informs.