Union of jewelers of Armenia continues to advocate for mutual recognition of samples within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union

ArmInfo. "We stand for  mutual recognition of samples in the markets of the five member  countries of the Eurasian Union," said the director of the Yerevan  Jewelry Factory No. 1 Gnomon, chairman of the Union of Jewelers of  Armenia Emil Grigoryan, answering the question of ArmInfo  correspondent during the September 19 press conference.

He explained that the state structure is responsible for establishing  samples and stigmatizing gold products in Russia, while in Armenia it  is produced by the private sector. "Russian partners often allow  themselves to express an opinion that in Armenia every citizen can be  involved in this process, which is completely contrary to reality,"  Grigoryan stressed. He explained that before getting this right, a  legal entity or an entrepreneur in the required order passes an  examination that contains over 300 questions of a special commission  of the RA Ministry of Economic Development and Investments. However,  in Russia, the chairman of the Union stated, in this business they  trust the state sector.

Very often, Russian partners, he said, are asked not to put a brand  on the product, reflecting the brand of the manufacturer, leaving  only the state stigma (in Armenia on gold items there should be a  stigma with the image of the hero of the national epic Sasuntsi  David) and the type of sample. The Russian side, as he further  explained, is proposing to put on the product of Armenian jewelers  its brand as well. <But for us the brand is very important, since it  displays the face of the manufacturer, and in the opposite case we  lose authorship. And our jewelers direct a lot of resources, both  financial and technical, to create this brand," he stressed.

In this regard, he reported on the upcoming participation of Armenian  jewelers in a major exhibition, which will be held at the end of this  year in Moscow. "We are not allowed to sell our production during the  exhibition, in view of the absence of Russian samples," the expert  said. This issue is currently occupied by state universities, in  particular, RA Ministry of Finance, RA Ministry of Economic  Development and Investment, he said. "Serious discussions are held  with the leadership of the Eurasian Commission and the relevant  departments to find a common system of solutions," he said.

Answering the question of ArmInfo, E. Grigoryan noted that granting  the right to the private sector to establish samples and to brand  gold products is a correct and justified decision. First of all,  according to him, this affected the sharp increase in production  volumes, including the number of producers. <And secondly, given that  the necessary raw materials, the machinery for manufacturing is  imported - low tariffs (or absence) for stigmatization will allow the  entrepreneur to have some benefit from the cost of the product>, he  stressed. At the same time E. Grigoryan noted that gold products of  Armenian jewelers today have a wide demand in the international  arena, but are more in demand for the markets of the countries of the  post-Soviet space.

According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, jewelry  production in the first half of 2017 increased by 34.1% to 22.5  billion AMD, against growth of 2.7 times a year earlier.