On June 25, 2021, the Acting RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan and the Deputy Minister Arman Khojoyan participated in “Promotion of Investments in Agricultural Export of Armenia: barriers and challenges” seminar organized by the Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) and the American University of Armenia (AUA).

The event was also attended by representatives and experts of the public and private sector, ANAU and other universities, and international partner organizations.

The objective of the seminar was to identify the barriers existing in the field of promoting investments in export of the agricultural sector and discuss possible ways to solve the existing problems.

Welcoming the organizers and participants of the event, Vahan Kerobyan stressed the importance of events dedicated to the agricultural sector, which make it possible to reveal problems of this sector of economy. He spoke of reforms needed to promote development of the sector and attraction of investments, and presented the reforms planned by the Government to achieve this goal.

The Acting Minister stressed the importance of implementing the land reform, without which the sector’s development is unrealistic. Giving importance to development of intensive horticulture in the country, the Acting Minister spoke of the need to introduce modern irrigation systems and the state support programs implemented for that purpose. In his speech, Vahan Kerobyan stressed the necessity of establishing logistics centers, implementation of tax reforms in the sector, and introduction of innovative technologies. Only in the event of systematic implementation of the afore-mentioned reforms will it be possible to ensure proper organization and promotion of exportation of agricultural products. At the same time, the Acting Minister stressed the importance to increase the efficiency of agricultural work.

The Deputy Minister Arman Khojoyan presented a report in which he referred to the concepts of barriers and opportunities at the national level, presented the current state of the agricultural sector of the Republic of Armenia, existing problems and opportunities for export.

Speaking of the existing potential of local agricultural products, the competitiveness and export opportunities of Armenian production in the market due to shortages of agricultural products in the EEU member states, the Deputy Minister assigned importance to the markets of the Middle East (Qatar, UAE, Kuwait) as a potential destination for exportation of Armenian agricultural products, especially berries and fresh flowers.

During the seminar, the prospects of the agricultural sector’s development, the main peculiarities of the investment environment, the problems of local food losses, waste processing, and value-based circular economy, existing barriers and opportunities of the field were discussed.

During the seminar, the participants presented their approaches and views on agricultural reforms and ways to overcome the challenges for exporting agricultural products.

The seminar concluded with a discussion aimed at identifying the key issues in the field, which will serve as basis for elaborating a new agricultural development policy at the national level.