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HEAD OF ARMENIAN UNION OF FISH BREEDERS: IF ENTREPRENEURSHIP DIPLOMACY WITH RUSSIA ON FISH DELIVERIES GIVES NO RESULTS, ARMENIA WILL HAVE TO APPLY TO WTO
ARMINFO
Wednesday, March 6, 17:31
If the entrepreneurship diplomacy with Russia on fish deliveries
gives no results, Armenia will have to apply to the World Trade
Organization, Artur Atoyan, Head of the Union of Fish Breeders of
Armenia, told ArmInfo when commenting on the ban on Armenian fish
deliveries to Russia.
He said that at the moment only the products of one company - Dimitri
LLC - are banned; and partial measures are applied against another
company - Aquatechautomatica CJSC. The negotiations are still underway,
the work is done at the level of economic entities and the economic
entities themselves are to make the relevant decision. But if the
parties fail to come to an agreement, application to the WTO will be
inevitable. Atoyan said that it is no secret that the Armenian fish
breeders' products are exported mostly to the Russian Federation,
particularly, to Moscow region, with which the Armenian party has
been trying to establish direct contacts without any mediators. The
mediators' involvement in the acquisition of Armenian fish increases
the fish price by 50%-60% on the mean, and the Armenian products
become uncompetitive. Therefore, the Union is taking measures to
establish direct contacts. In particular, a project is being worked
out to deliver the products directly, organize exhibitions and hold
a Fish Day in Russia with participation of Armenian companies.
As regards the obstacles posed by Rosselkhoznadzor, which regularly
announces the availability of colibacilli in the Armenian products,
Atoyan said that only Russia applies such bans. No other developed
countries apply such measures, as the fish, after being transported,
need to be cleaned and after that the fish become absolutely clear.
The repeated attempts to find out at what stage the colibacilli are
revealed, have given no results. "Probably, they simply did not want
to do it, as the Armenian fish breeders' products are delicious
and meet all the international standards", said Atoyan. He added
that the Union's goal is to present the Armenian fish to the world
community together with the Armenian Government and to diversify the
export directions. He pointed out that even Rosselkhoznadzor itself
has officially told one of the Armenian companies that an order was
being fulfilled, but it did not specify the customer. The Union keeps
on making efforts to find out all the circumstances to see whether the
matter concerns an individual or a legal entity. In this context, the
Union is going to apply to the President and Government to solve this
problem at the state level. Russia imports fish not only from Armenia,
but also from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, however, the key competitors
of Armenian companies are Norway and a number of European states.
Atoyan also pointed out that before 2010 Armenia was able to fix the
average wholesale price of 1 kg of fish at no less than 1500 AMD,
however, in 2012 the price dropped to 1200 AMD on the mean, as in
2012 the Armenian companies came across a serious crisis caused by
the behavior of Russian companies, which placed a big order in Armenia
and then withdrew it. In the meantime, to carry out the order, credit
resources were attracted for production expansion and property was
pledged. As a result, the products remained in the domestic market and
the price became lower than the prime cost - up to 80-100 AMD per kg.
If one also takes into account the water shortage and the growth in
fishfood prices, the situation is getting simply disastrous. As a
consequence, 57 fish farms have closed down. Now there are only 215
fish farms in Armenia. In order to solve the problems of Armenian
fish breeders, two interdepartmental groups were set up by the
Government's decision. He pointed out that in 2012 a total of 1530
tons of fish products were imported against 800 tons in 2011. After
the Easter, the fish products are expected to grow in price by 300
AMD per kg. Atoyan also said that the Armenian supermarkets purchase
the fish at a low price and then resell the fish at a price that is
twice or thrice as high as the initial price.
From: A. Papazian
ARMINFO
Wednesday, March 6, 17:31
If the entrepreneurship diplomacy with Russia on fish deliveries
gives no results, Armenia will have to apply to the World Trade
Organization, Artur Atoyan, Head of the Union of Fish Breeders of
Armenia, told ArmInfo when commenting on the ban on Armenian fish
deliveries to Russia.
He said that at the moment only the products of one company - Dimitri
LLC - are banned; and partial measures are applied against another
company - Aquatechautomatica CJSC. The negotiations are still underway,
the work is done at the level of economic entities and the economic
entities themselves are to make the relevant decision. But if the
parties fail to come to an agreement, application to the WTO will be
inevitable. Atoyan said that it is no secret that the Armenian fish
breeders' products are exported mostly to the Russian Federation,
particularly, to Moscow region, with which the Armenian party has
been trying to establish direct contacts without any mediators. The
mediators' involvement in the acquisition of Armenian fish increases
the fish price by 50%-60% on the mean, and the Armenian products
become uncompetitive. Therefore, the Union is taking measures to
establish direct contacts. In particular, a project is being worked
out to deliver the products directly, organize exhibitions and hold
a Fish Day in Russia with participation of Armenian companies.
As regards the obstacles posed by Rosselkhoznadzor, which regularly
announces the availability of colibacilli in the Armenian products,
Atoyan said that only Russia applies such bans. No other developed
countries apply such measures, as the fish, after being transported,
need to be cleaned and after that the fish become absolutely clear.
The repeated attempts to find out at what stage the colibacilli are
revealed, have given no results. "Probably, they simply did not want
to do it, as the Armenian fish breeders' products are delicious
and meet all the international standards", said Atoyan. He added
that the Union's goal is to present the Armenian fish to the world
community together with the Armenian Government and to diversify the
export directions. He pointed out that even Rosselkhoznadzor itself
has officially told one of the Armenian companies that an order was
being fulfilled, but it did not specify the customer. The Union keeps
on making efforts to find out all the circumstances to see whether the
matter concerns an individual or a legal entity. In this context, the
Union is going to apply to the President and Government to solve this
problem at the state level. Russia imports fish not only from Armenia,
but also from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, however, the key competitors
of Armenian companies are Norway and a number of European states.
Atoyan also pointed out that before 2010 Armenia was able to fix the
average wholesale price of 1 kg of fish at no less than 1500 AMD,
however, in 2012 the price dropped to 1200 AMD on the mean, as in
2012 the Armenian companies came across a serious crisis caused by
the behavior of Russian companies, which placed a big order in Armenia
and then withdrew it. In the meantime, to carry out the order, credit
resources were attracted for production expansion and property was
pledged. As a result, the products remained in the domestic market and
the price became lower than the prime cost - up to 80-100 AMD per kg.
If one also takes into account the water shortage and the growth in
fishfood prices, the situation is getting simply disastrous. As a
consequence, 57 fish farms have closed down. Now there are only 215
fish farms in Armenia. In order to solve the problems of Armenian
fish breeders, two interdepartmental groups were set up by the
Government's decision. He pointed out that in 2012 a total of 1530
tons of fish products were imported against 800 tons in 2011. After
the Easter, the fish products are expected to grow in price by 300
AMD per kg. Atoyan also said that the Armenian supermarkets purchase
the fish at a low price and then resell the fish at a price that is
twice or thrice as high as the initial price.
From: A. Papazian