Budget Guarantees of Up to 50% to Be Provided to Grape Collectors, Papoyan

The government has approved a proposal to amend the decision N 201-L of the Republic of Armenia's government dated February 28, 2019. Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan stated, "The draft was developed based on the proposals of organizations involved in grape collection. Due to insufficient working capital, high credit burden, and a lack of available collateral, problems have arisen regarding attracting loans and organizing the grape collection process for the current year without obstacles. Therefore, the draft proposes to make amendments to the subsidy program for interest rates on loans provided for the purchase of agricultural raw materials, whereby in cases of insufficient collateral by entrepreneurs for loans aimed at purchasing grape collections, a budget guarantee of up to 50% will be provided by the government of Armenia from September 1, 2025, to December 30, 2025, but not more than the value of the products exported in 2024."

It is proposed to "establish the procedure for providing budget guarantees within the framework of the program, according to which budget guarantees will be provided without additional collateral, with a maximum repayment term of up to 27 months. The principal repayments made by the beneficiary for the loan amount will be directed primarily to the repayment of obligations secured by budget guarantees." According to the minister, the draft also establishes that the deadline for contracts signed with grape growers for attracting grape loans has been extended from September 1 to November 1.