MP questions official statistics on agriculture

YEREVAN, 21 November. /ARKA/. Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs Babken Tunyan today doubted the reliability of the data published by the Armenian National Statistical Committee on agriculture.

I don't consider myself an expert in the field of agriculture, but as far as I managed to familiarise myself with the subject, we should be very careful when speaking about agricultural indicators. The figures that the Statistical Committee is now publishing should not be taken at face value. We do not really know what our agriculture represents. A person can have a few trees and a couple of cows and we will include that in agriculture,’ the MP said, commenting in an interview with the Pubic Television on Armenia's agricultural sector, which the official statistics says has not been growing in recent years.

According to official data, in January-September 2024, agricultural output increased by 1.8 per cent to 628.7 billion drams.

It says some 69.2 thousand tonnes of meat of agricultural animals and poultry for slaughter (live weight) were sold with an 8% growth, as well as 493.7 thousand tonnes of milk (down 3.2%) and 587.6 million eggs (down 3.8%) were produced.

Also, some 221.1 thousand tonnes of cereals and leguminous crops were grown (down 22.9%), potatoes - 173.3 thousand tonnes (down 8.1%), vegetables - 502.3 thousand tonnes (up 2.4%), melons - 119.2 thousand tonnes (up 17.9%), fruits and berries - 226.0 thousand tonnes (down 8.1%), grapes - 122.1 million pieces (up 10.5%).-0-