Today the market of fishery products in Armenia is experiencing difficult times, said chairman of the Union of Armenian Manufacturers and Exporters of fish Arthur Atoyan.
"Today Armenia has serious problems hindering the production of fish products. The first problem is the cost price. Today, the wholesale price of Armenian fish is at the level of its cost. In some cases, those, who have credit obligations related to the necessity of buying feed, sell products about 120-150 drama cheaper that its real cost,’’ ARKA cites him as saying.
Atoyan added that Armenia has lost competitiveness in the foreign market, because of this fact the export of fish products has fallen significantly. "In terms of the absence of co-operation with government agencies fish farmers are powerless to existing problems that threaten all spheres,’’ said chairman of the Union of Armenian manufacturers and exporters of fish.
One of the main problems in the field of fish farming Atoyan pointed out the increase of feed prices in the foreign market. He also complained that Armenian fish farms that produce high-quality products are losing competitiveness because of the bad promotion, wrong policy and strategy.
In an interview with the Vesting Kavkaza, the head of the analytical center Alternative, the economist Tatul Manasaryan noted that it is necessary to share such things as competitiveness and exportability. "Products can be absolutely competitive, i.e. it can be sold in all markets. In addition, it may not be absolutely competitive, but exportable, despite what niches of this product, despite what markets that we mean. The combination of quality and price allows to sell production in countries with low purchasing ability,’’ said the expert.
Many things depend on the country, where goods are exported. "Certainly, the EU countries have high the standards, the level of phytosanitary conditions are tougher, that is why not every product allows to delivered to this market. It is possible to implement any products in other countries that are not members of the WTO, or similar organizations," explained the expert.
"I want to note that Armenia has made some progress in this direction. The country was ready to sign an agreement on free-trade-zone with the EU. This means that the standards of Armenian products, including fish, are quite high. If the goods are sold and they are in demand in the domestic market, that the Armenian goods are rather competitive products than exportable,’’ said Manasaryan.
