The Border is Open for Turkish Agricultural Products, Goods Enter Armenia Unhindered: Vahan Kerobyan

The border with Turkey is open for the import of Turkish agricultural products, meaning that Turkish goods are entering Armenia without restrictions. This was stated by the Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan in an interview with NEWS.am, addressing the question of whether cheap Turkish agricultural products would be imported into Armenia if the Armenian-Turkish border were to open and whether local producers could withstand such competition.

“Last year, the trade turnover between Armenia and Turkey exceeded $300 million, which is a record figure. The imports have mainly included agricultural products. In 2019-2020, the trade turnover with Turkey was about $200 million. Today, there are no restrictions on these goods. Yes, they come through Georgia, but nevertheless, those are insignificant percentages. Today, the government is implementing various programs aimed at increasing agricultural productivity,” Kerobyan noted.

“Overall, the productivity of Armenia's economy was about $7 per person per hour of GDP in 2021; this is about 7 times less than the average of 37 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In agriculture, productivity lags even further. For example, while the difference in the IT sector from developed countries is 3-4 times, in some sectors of industry, it is 7 times; in agriculture, it is by dozens of times,” Kerobyan stated.

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