ArmInfo. Problems in the sphere of agriculture in Armenia are mainly related to logistics at the Upper Lars checkpoint. The Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan stated in an interview with RIA Novosti.
As the prime minister noted, the sphere of agriculture is in the center of attention of the Armenian government. According to him, the country is implementing a number of programs aimed at creating a modern, profitable and industrial agriculture - this is the creation of new intensive gardens and greenhouses, the transition to a new drop irrigation system, and state support programs for leasing agricultural machinery, and loans on very affordable conditions, and a new system of anti-hail missile defense, which should gradually cover the entire territory of the republic. "Naturally, all this can not but be reflected in the export of our agricultural products to Russia, which is growing dynamically," he said.
As for the problems, they, as the head of the Armenian government thinks, are mainly connected with logistics in Upper Lars. These are mainly technical problems related to weather conditions and seasonal loads. At present, as the prime minister said, alternative options for logistics are also being discussed. At the same time, work is underway to increase the level of representation of Armenian products at various exhibitions, which also contribute to increased exports and the emergence of new markets. Note that according to operational statistics for Jan-Nov 2017, in comparison with the same period in 2016, unprecedented growth was recorded - the index of economic activity of Armenia grew by 7.3%. The leaders of growth were trade, services and the industrial sector - an increase of 14.4%, 14.2% and 12.3%, respectively. The volume of exports has undergone annual growth of 23.5% to 971.4 billion AMD ($ 2013.8 million), and imports - an annual growth of 28% to 1,819 billion AMD ($ 3,770.4 million). The construction sector, in the end, recorded growth, albeit insignificant - by 0.3% to 324.5 billion AMD. At present, the sphere of agriculture remains the only direction of the economy, which remained in the negative - the volume of gross agricultural production decreased by 3.9%, making 811.7 billion AMD.