Why Are Food Prices Rising, Especially for Essential Goods?

The program coordinator of the Economic Research Office of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau, economist Tadevos Avetisyan, has posed questions to the authorities. The questions are as follows:

“1. Compared to December 2020, the average prices of food increased by 5.4% in June 2021 (https://www.armstat.am/file/article/cpi_06_2021-arm.pdf, page 33), while the Armenian dram has appreciated by about 10%. In this case: ‘Why do food prices continue to rise, especially for imported essential goods, the average rate of which in our country exceeds that recorded in international markets by about 2 times?’

2. Compared to June 2020, the average prices of food increased by 9% in June 2021 (https://www.armstat.am/file/article/cpi_06_2021-arm.pdf, page 5), but during this period, pensions, social assistance benefits, and the minimum wage have not increased. From January to May 2021, the average wage increased by only 4.4%, which is less than half of the food price inflation (https://www.armstat.am/file/article/sv_05_21a_142.pdf, page 77). This means that the real incomes of citizens are continuously declining, while the free fall of our country’s economy continues. Thus, the question is: ‘Has this been reported to the leadership? Is there any consideration, or...?’