Armenian economy minister urges fellow citizens to stop panic buying of foods
YEREVAN, March 12. /ARKA/. Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan called on fellow citizens on Friday to refrain from panic buying of food products in large quantities, prompted by reports that Russia has banned exports of grain crops and sugar to other countries, including to the countries which are members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
In a Facebook post the minister said that food security issues are in the center of attention of the government.
According to the minister, at the moment there is no approved decision of the Russian government to ban the export of food products to EEU member states; therefore, the import of products to Armenia is carried out as usual.
"In the Republic of Armenia, there is currently no shortage of the products included in the minimum food basket. We are in touch with our Russian partners, and even if the Russian government decides to impose some export restrictions, the Republic of Armenia has the necessary resources to ensure the food security of the population," Kerobyan wrote.
According to him, self-sufficiency in grain in the Russian Federation is about 150%, which means that the reserves of the Russian Federation are sufficient for domestic consumption and export.
"I urge citizens not to create panic and not to make unnecessary purchases," the minister stressed.
Residents of Yerevan have been buying food products, such as flour, cooking oils, sugar, rice buckwheat, pasta in large quantities. These products are mostly imported from Russia.
Earlier, Russian Customs Subcommittee approved the decision to impose a ban until August 31, 2022 on the export of grain crops from Russia to the EEU countries. This measure applies to wheat, rye, barley and corn. Sugar supplies to the EEU will be possible on the basis of special permits.
According to the Russian government, four former Soviet republics –Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, which are members of the Russia-led EEU, have already imported tax-free sufficient amounts of Russian wheat for this year. It said the ban is designed to prevent wheat re-exports to third countries.--0-
