ArmInfo.The Georgian government's prohibition to transport grain by road has been prolonged until the end of 2018. This was reported by the Armenian Embassy in Georgia. Earlier this measure, according to the order of the Minister of Finance of Georgia, was to enter into force on October 1. It is noted that by the beginning of next year the government of the neighboring country will make appropriate changes to the decision taken earlier.
It should be noted that Georgian wheat importers staged a large-scale protest action. Having blocked the free economic zone in one of the districts of Tbilisi - Lilo, the protesters demand a revision of the government ban on import / export of wheat by road. According to the opposition TV channel Rustavi 2, the protest action has been going on for the second day, and the work of the FEZ in Lilo continues to be paralyzed. Protesters promise to arrange a "real blockade" of Georgia, paralyzing all the central highways of the country, unless the country's authorities until the evening of September 19 will not cancel the earlier decision to ban the importation of wheat by road.
In Armenia, however, it was estimated that the innovation would lead to an increase in grain prices by $ 50 per ton. On August 31, it was reported that as a result of negotiations between the South Caucasus Railways and Georgian Railways, starting from September 1, 2018, tariffs for transportation of goods with grain by rail to Armenia will be reduced by 52%. According to the "SCR", the matter concerns the supply of grain by rail from the port of Poti to Armenia. Nevertheless, according to the forecasts of the Armenian Ministry of Agriculture, in the event of a non-receipt from the Georgian colleagues of a discount on the supply of grain to Armenia by rail, 1 kg of grain will rise in price by 25 drams.