Dairy Products Prices Surge in Armenia: Are Producers Competing for High Prices?

In the past nearly two weeks, dairy products have sharply increased in price in Armenia. For example, sour cream priced at 670 drams has now become 720 drams. Notably, most producers have raised prices across their product ranges, including yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, and more. In some stores, consumers have noticed increases of up to 100 drams. This has been reported by 'Hetq'.

Experts have various comments and doubts concerning the reasons behind the price hikes in dairy products. The most common opinion suggests that the implementation of QR codes is the basis for the price increase, although for some experts, this explanation is neither convincing nor exhaustive. Producers have refrained from discussing the price hikes.

The Commission for Competition and Consumer Protection is still studying whether there are dominant players in the market, and only in such a case could proceedings be initiated.

Khachatur Poghosyan, the president of the Union of Armenian Dairy Producers, cites multiple reasons for the recent price increases. One of these is the implementation of QR codes, aimed at monitoring the entire sales chain of the products. Starting January 1 of the coming year, dairy producers will be required to affix control QR codes on their products. This is a government decision adopted back in August 2024.

Some companies have already begun to implement QR codes, and these codes are now visible on their products.

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