Turkish Goods Are Imported to Armenia Under Other Countries' Names: Suren Parsyan

The head of the Economic Research Office of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), economist Suren Parsyan, published an article in which he states: "Turkish goods are imported to Armenia under other countries' names. Recently, I had the opportunity to discuss the new difficulties in the textile industry with one of the Armenian businessmen engaged in textile production for over 40 years. Generally, I frequently meet with various entrepreneurs, especially representatives of small and medium businesses, whose interests have no defenders in either the government or parliament.

On October 20, 2021, the Armenian government decided to ban the import of Turkish goods for six months (starting from January 1, 2021), with the exception of raw materials. Even at that time, it was clear that the ruling authorities made this decision hastily, displaying their false patriotism and populism. However, shortly after the decision to ban the import of Turkish goods, officials began to announce the benefits of access to Turkish ports, the unblocking of trade, permissions for the re-export of Turkish goods, and other measures contradicting the previous decision.

When the ruling political force continuously lies to its people and ties the possible development of the Armenian economy to Turkish-Azerbaijani trade relations only, it is logical that domestic producers cannot trust these authorities and hesitate to open new productions to replace Turkish goods.

Textile producers mainly import their raw materials (fabric, threads, etc.) from Turkey, considering their availability and quality. Despite established connections with Turkish companies over the years and the lack of a ban, in December 2020, an acquaintance of mine tried to import the necessary fabric from the Islamic Republic of Iran, but the offer from Iranian businessmen was unsuitable in terms of price and quality. Nevertheless, he continued to bring fabric from Turkey, but representatives of the government's economic block, who are disconnected from business and reality, failed to take into account that textile production requires not only fabric but also accessories such as buttons, chains, and ornaments, the import of which is under the ban.

Moreover, importing accessories solely from other countries is not only labor-intensive and time-consuming but may also simply not match with Turkish fabric. As a result, many of our textile producers have been forced to circumvent the ban by importing Turkish accessories under other countries' names (for example, from China), while the state bodies, well aware of this issue, turn a blind eye to it.

More concerning is that even under the ban, Turkish ready-made clothing continues to be imported into Armenia. If there was a hope that local clothing manufacturers would receive additional orders under the ban on the import of Turkish clothing, that is no longer realistic, as importers of Turkish clothing cut off the labels (made in Turkey) in Turkey or Georgia, and these goods are again imported into Armenia under other countries' names and freely sold at markets and malls.

It is unlikely that the authorized body does not notice the absence of labels; I believe that the real reason lies in the political stance of the current authorities. They understand well that, in this short time, they have been unable to provide alternatives to Turkish goods. Therefore, if the strict implementation of the ban on the import of Turkish goods occurs, there will be a shortage of certain goods in the Armenian domestic market, leading to price increases, which would further diminish the dwindling ratings of the ruling force."