Agriculture Ministry: 2016 debts for grapes form about AMD 2 bln

ArmInfo. In 2016 processing  companies purchased grapes at the total cost of about AMD 21,2 bln.  About  AMD 2,2, bln  amount is still   unpaid, IgnatiArakelyan, the  Minister of  Agriculture stated on February 2, after the Government  meeting. " At the present stage stage no one of companies  has   broken its liabilities due to payouts. Everything is going according  to the schedule," he stated.  

According to Arakelyan, the Ministry develops additional financial  tools to rule out any payment delays.  What is to 2015 purchases,  according to the Minister, as of February 3 all the purchasing  entities have fully implemented their liabilities in respect to   farmers, except the Company of Vinar. According to him, by today the  issue of  Vinar accounts receivable  is still unsolved. The  Agriculture  Ministry in cooperation with other companies did its  best and bought some wine spirit from Vinar, to give an option to   pay the certain part of the debt. But there are some more debts left.  "And, despite Vinar managers state they have more alcohol, according  to our information they don't," Arakelyan mentioned. 

It was reported earlier, that Agriculture Ministry applied to the  prosecutor General Office claiming to recover the violated rights of  the farmers in respect to debts unpaid by processing companies.  "Farmers do complain permanently, but there is nothing done to make  the companies implement their liabilities. This step will become a  precedent to rule out such incidents in the future," Robert   Makaryan, the Deputy Agriculture Minister stated at a  press  conference in Yerevan on December 21, 2016. As of January 19, 2017  Vinar LLC still had  AMD 84 mln. debt unpaid to farmers.