Fertilizer market in Armenia creates an artificial shortage – head of the union

YEREVAN, October 24. /ARKA/. Short-sighted statements of the officials on reducing the cost of fertilizers in Armenia this year led to an artificial shortage of fertilizers in the market by 20%, said the head of Agrarian Association of Armenia Hrach Berberyan.

If the retail price for fertilizer was 7100-7200 drams, in summer it was 9-10 thousand drams. In the villages the price of nitrogenous fertilizers was 15 thousand drams.

“The State made an attempt to interfere in business and the price of fertilizers increased by 30. What happened? Some state officials decided to take this business in their hands and the importers who have stabilized the situation in the market after the previous years, the state implemented the import of fertilizers in the grant funds, as a result refused to import fertilizers”, said Berberyan..

Now winter crops are in danger as minimum 150 kilogram fertilizers for 1 ha was calculated but it was not implemented.

The Ministry has already introduced the full package of initiatives, particularly in importing to the country VAT is withdrawn for all types of fertilizers. Moreover, the government allocated 50 million drams for the production of 20 tons of highly effective fertilizer - "Azoceovit” (10 liters per 1 ha). This amount was distributed to the poorest communities in debt, so that after the sale of the harvest they return their cost.

Berberyan said that the Agrarian Union filed a complaint of 20 farms of the village Dashk of Armavir region which were dissatisfied with the fertilizers received in the frames of this program.

“I don’t want to doubt about the quality of fertilizers but we have already requested an explanation from the manufacturer. The fertilizers may be incorrectly used as they have been distributed out of abundance, and we sent the samples to the laboratory to Netherlands and expect an answer”, he said.

Berberyan said that the cost of the fertilizer was 2500 per 1 liter and for 1 ha 10 liters is needed. ($1 – 377.98 drams). G.K.-0-