ArmInfo. There are encouraging preconditions for Armenia to receive a high-quality and abundant harvest of apricots this year. Former Minister of Agriculture of Armenia Ashot Harutyunyan expressed a similar opinion during a press conference on April 16.
He noted that the flowering of apricot trees and pollination went very well. At the moment, the process of fruit formation is coming to an end in the Ararat Valley and in the high mountain regions.
In this regard, Hartuyunyan called on the authorized bodies, sparing no effort, to prepare for the export of these products abroad. He noted that the main market for Armenian apricots was and remains the Russian Federation, a certain part was exported to Ukraine, and very small volumes to the Middle East. "Now that we know what a risky situation has developed in Ukraine, the authorities need to think about how to resolve the issue in Upper Lars with the Russian side so that no barriers suddenly arise.
As for Europe, the EU countries, with which our authorities talk so much about integration, the time has come for the authorities to prove themselves, show their capabilities by organizing the export of apricots to the European market. But I know that they will fail," he said.
The RA Statistical Committee does not publish separate data on the gross apricot harvest, and in customs data apricot is included in the same group with other fruits and berries, including cherries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, and plums. Thus, according to customs data, 20.4 thousand tons of these fruits were exported from Armenia in H1 2023, which exceeded the 2022 figure by 11.8%. The customs value of fruit exports amounted to 16.3 million US dollars, with a decrease of 11% over the year.
