I Have a Problem with Them: Whose Spirit Are They Exporting? – Papoyan

During the National Assembly session on March 3, Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan responded to the remark by MP Garnik Danielyan from the 'Armenia' faction regarding delays experienced by brandy producers in Georgia. Papoyan stated that he would not address the issues of certain economic operators.

“We have two types of brandy and brandy spirit exporters: companies that have harvested tens of thousands of tons of grapes over the past 3-4 years (one company, for instance, has over 100,000 tons for three consecutive years) — I stand by those companies. I stand by the tens of thousands of tons of grape harvesters. There are companies that have not harvested grapes in the last three years, yet they want to export millions of liters of brandy spirit — I have a problem with them. Whose spirit are they exporting if they are not harvesting our farmers' grapes? Why should we support them? Whose spirit are they exporting? They are not buying the farmers’ grapes but are taking someone else's spirit and exporting it. Am I supposed to stand with them? I will not stand with them,” said Minister Papoyan.

“As for those who buy Armenian farmers' grapes, I will stand with them until the end. I urge you to join me to resolve these issues. As for those who do not buy grapes and are engaged in who knows what, I apologize, but their problem is not our problem. On the contrary, as a result of their activities, our brandy's name is tarnished, and our country's name is harmed,” added the Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan.