Expert: Armenian organic products are high quality, but cannot compete with mass producers

ArmInfo. The organic  agriculture sector of Armenia, in view of the limited production  volumes, can not compete in the European market with mass producers,  which are represented in large network supermarkets. This was stated  by the head of the project "Organic Agriculture Support Initiative"  (OASI) of the Austrian Development Agency, David Mukenguber, in an  interview with ArmInfo.

According to him, Armenian agricultural products are sold, as a rule,  in small grocery stores and stalls of European capitals. At the same  time, the Diaspora is also interested in the product. Mukenguber  noted that the advantage of Armenian organics in the ease of finding  niche markets "In large network supermarkets it is somewhat difficult  to ensure the presence of Armenian organics. But here the key role is  played not by quality, as organic production of Armenia is an  exquisite, tasty and specific product. The point is limited  production, whose volumes do not yet allow entering the markets of a  different level> he explained.

The expert informed that today within the framework of the OASI  program the Austrian Development Agency cooperates with 45 Armenian  companies. "Starting from farmers and ending with representatives of  medium-sized businesses that engage in organic farming, we provide a  certificate, which the entrepreneur can freely sell his products in  Europe," he said.

At the same time, he noted that Armenia had achieved certain  successes in the previous exhibition of organic products BIOFACH in  Germany.

In conclusion, the expert stressed that the European market offers  great opportunities for marketing organic products of Armenia, but in  the future it is necessary to work on increasing production volumes.

To note, OASI program in  Armenia, implemented by the Austrian Development Agency with EU  financing, is aimed at developing organic agriculture and selling  Armenian organic products both on domestic and foreign markets. The  total budget of the program is 3.3 million euros.