ArmInfo.The Sevan sugar plant in Armenia for three years will be exempted from VAT payments for the supply of raw materials and equipment. The decision was made at the session of the RA government on October 4.
According to the certificate - justification of the decision, the company began its activities since 2003, but since 2009 the plant has temporarily ceased its work. Currently, within the framework of the investment program, it is planned to modernize the enterprise, as a result of which daily production volumes will amount to 50-60 tons. As part of the modernization program, it is planned to make investments in the amount of 3.78 billion drams, of which the planned amount for the purchase of raw materials will be 3.7 billion drams. The project will create 95 new jobs with an average salary of 129 thousand drams. Earlier, ArmInfo, citing the founder and director of the plant Armen Arakelyan, reported that the sugar plant in the Sevan city, which had been idle since 2009, would again start production in November.
120 million drams were invested in the restart of the plant, which were used for re-equipment, construction and installation works, renovation, etc. The enterprise will provide up to 80 workplaces, with 120 thousand drams average wages.
The plant plans to produce sugar by processing and refining the sugar cane imported from Brazil. The daily production capacity will be about 60 tons. "The first shipment of raw materials will be delivered by November 20, and we will restart the production, which will be directed to the domestic market," he said, noting that export opportunities are not considered yet, because of inability to compete on the international market. The entrepreneur plans to sell his products at a price of 270 drams per kilogram. "We will do everything possible to get a competitive price, in particular within the framework of the EEU," A. Arakelyan stressed.
Speaking about the nine-year idleness of enterprise, Arakelyan noted that the suspension of activities was due to the general situation in the market, in particular, with the sales volumes. "In 2009, the prices for cane increased, and beet sugar was imported to Armenia from neighboring countries several times cheaper, so it was unreasonable to continue operating the plant," he explained. Meanwhile when political changes took place in the country A. Arakelyan decided to restart the plant. ''In May of this year we started implementing the investment program. The atmosphere changed in the country. There have been no monopolies including on sugar market for already 3-4 months. Henceforth, everyone who wants has gotten the right both to import sugar, and to produce it, "- noted the entrepreneur. To note, as of today there is only one sugar factory operating in Armenia in Shirak region - Akhuryan, which production capacity is about 320 thousand tons. Sevan sugar plant will be the second in the republic. According to the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia, in January- August 2018, sugar production in Armenia increased by 19.2% to 57.9 thousand tons. For the whole of 2017, the volume of sugar production amounted to 48.6 thousand tons, which is less than the figure of 10.1% a year ago. At the same time, according to the RA Customs Service, in 2017 Armenia imported 110.6 thousand tons of sugar, with a y-o-y growth of 79.8%. In terms of value, sugar imports increased 2.3-fold to $ 53.6 million. In general, sugar was imported to Armenia from Brazil (78.2%) and Russia (21.3%), as well as from Ukraine, Belarus, Colombia, India, France, Italy and Germany.