Armenian cheese may be competitive in Europe: minister
26.07.2012,
20:36
Armenian varieties of cheese can be quite competitive at European markets, agriculture minister Sergo Karapetyan told a press conference on Thursday.
YEREVAN, July 26. /ARKA/. Armenian varieties of cheese can be quite competitive at European markets, agriculture minister Sergo Karapetyan told a press conference on Thursday.
"Armenia has great potential for export of products of animal origin, especially cheese to the European markets", said Karapetyan, adding that the major obstacles to expanding exports are related primarily with food safety standards.
"The first step to be done is to regulate the legislative framework in relation to food safety, because if we want to integrate closely with EU, we need to make our legislation comply with European standards", he said.
In early 2010, the government-run Armenian Development Agency and the Union of Cheese Producers founded Armenian Cheese company, which employs the best cheese-makers in the country, uses the highest quality fresh milk from alpine pastures and is the largest cheese exporter in the country. Last the year the company exported 25 tons of cheese, mainly to Russia. -0-
