Armenian Fruit JSC to be established in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Acting Director of the Program on Creation of Agricultural Opportunities Sergey Virabyan said that Armenian Fruit JSC will be established in Armenia as part of the program implementation.

Meanwhile, the state will be the owner of 100% shares of the company, Virabyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

According to him, it is a pilot project with usage of modern technologies and international standards. "Based on results of the program implementation, a new industry will be established in Armenia, while its output will be in demand in Russia, the CIS and European markets," noted Virabyan. He said that the program is a prototype of voluntary cooperatives, while participation of the private sector in the company may be considered in future.

For several years, Armenian Fruit will be dealing with all issues related to creation of agricultural opportunities, including export logistics, marketing, etc.

On July 16, the RA government hosted a meeting of Head of UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Programs in Armenia Henning Pedersen and Sergey Virabyan with Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and a representative of the Ministry of Finance. During the meeting, the parties voiced desired volumes of agricultural products sale - $250mln per year.

Commenting on basic problems of agricultural development in Armenia, Henning Pedersen pointed to the underdevelopment of infrastructures, lack of marketing services and funds, non-compliance with standards and quality norms, as well as non-usage of modern technologies for the achievement of best results.

Over $50mln will be invested for implementation of the Program on Creation of Agricultural Opportunities in Armenia in 2011-2015.