Pashinyan says 2020 was successful for agriculture

YEREVAN, February 11. /ARKA/. The past year was quite successful for Armenia's agriculture, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday during a government meeting. According to him, the export of fresh fruits and vegetables increased by 2% compared to 2019, but in price terms the growth amounted to 37%.

"The growth was secured by market fluctuations in prices, and partly by the production of more expensive products,” Pashinyan said.

He also noted that in 2020, the export of canned food and juices increased by 30% and 38%, respectively. At the same time, the exports of grape wines and cognac spirits decreased by 18% and 13% respectively.

“The analysis showed that growth was provided by online sales and, unfortunately, our companies were not adequately represented on these platforms,” Pashinyan said.

In general, according to him, the agricultural year in Armenia starts optimistically, especially that there will be no big problems with irrigation water resources due to snowy winter.

Speaking about lending to the agricultural sector, the Prime Minister noted that in 2020 a record number of loans were provided to farmers and farms - 36,608, which is 6 times more than in 2018 (5,782 loans).

“In 2020, there was an unprecedented growth in the number of loans, but the problem is that we want to make sure that agricultural loans are spent exclusively on agriculture, since improperly invested funds create problems, first of all, for borrowers,” Pashinyan said.

According to the prime minister, a significant shift was also recorded in the field of intensive agriculture: in 2019, compared to 2018, the land area under intensive gardens grew 2.5 times, and in 2020, compared to 2019, 10 times - from 53 hectares up to 518 hectares. -0-