Armenian apricot export hits record

July 26, 2017 By administrator

Apricot Export YEREVAN. – Export of apricots from Armenia in 2017 hit a seven-year record, deputy agriculture minister Robert Makaryan said.

Over 26 tons of apricots have been exported since the beginning of summer, he told reporters on Wednesday. Although the apricot season is over, export continues thanks to the reserves in refrigerators.

The official added that the export of strawberries has doubled reaching 2.5 thousand tons.

Since the beginning of this year, export of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables has reached 65 thousand tons with Russia being the main market for the Armenian export.

Armenia’s exports hit record high in 2016 – minister

December 28, 2016 By administrator

Armenia’s exports have set a record this year, Armenia’s Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan told reporters on Wednesday.

“We’ll record a year-on-year increase of exports reaching 21%. And we forecast a 25% increase during the last four-month period,” the minister said.

On the other hand, Mr Karayan does not consider the figures satisfactory.

“To ensure steady economic growth we believe that we must, in the mid-term, invest all our potential to ensure the share of exports in Armenia’s GDP to be at least 40-50 percent,” the minister said.

He points out controversial high-level centralization of export in terms of both markets and products, and the ministry will try to diversify exports.

“The increase was due to Armenia products. We have recorded a 25% increase in exports over the last three months – several times as much as last year,” Mr Karayan said.

Armenia’s exports to the European Union (EU) have increased as well and work is in progress to promote exports to the EU, which is one of the major steps.

Armenia’s exports of fresh fruits, vegetables to EEU member-states up 90%

August 12, 2016 By administrator

As of August 12, 2016, Armenia’s exports of fresh fruits and vegetables to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member-states showed a 90% increase as compared with the corresponding period of last year, Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture Armen Harutyunyan told reporters on Friday.

“The EEU is the most convenient market for or agricultural produce now. The Ministry of Agriculture has focused on exports,” he said.

The ministry is working with the EEU in different formats.

“We are also improving our research institutes’ efficiency. We have recently discussed creation of produce exchanges. Moreover, free trade agreements with other states are being drafted,” Mr Harutyunyan said.

A free trade agreement was recently signed in Vietnam, but the document has not yet been published.

Asked whether the exports to Russia are the reason for the 90% export growth and what is being done to export agricultural produce to the other EEU member-states, Mr Harutyunyan said that exports of fresh fruits and vegetables are the major reason for the growth.

“And work to organize exports to the other member-states is in progress now. I think the reason for the growth is all types of procedures – food safety, customs control, and others – which enables small and medium-sized producers to enter the EEU market,” the official said.

An intergovernmental commission is to hold a meeting to discuss logistical issues.

“This is being done to ensure exports of Armenian agricultural produce to Kazakhstan,” Mr Harutyunyan said.

Work is being done to organize export of Armenian agricultural produce to other countries, and free trade agreements will soon be signed with ten countries.

Iran Plans to Boost Export of Agricultural Products to Russia

December 13, 2015 By administrator

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran has set up a special work group to boost exports of its agricultural products to Russia, a senior trade official announced on Sunday.

Iranian Deputy Minister of Industries, Mines, and Commerce Valiollah Afkhamirad said that the work group has been formed in line with accelerating broadening trade and economic relations between Tehran and Moscow, specially in agricultural fields.

The work group comprises experts of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce and Iranian Trade Promotion Organization.

After the European countries imposed sanctions on Russia over he last year, Russia turned to Iran for importing agricultural products. However, owing to several facors such as high import tariffs levied on Iranian agricultural products by Russia, lack of proper transportation means and money exchange problems as well as Russia’s demanding high standards for Iranian goods, export of Iran’s products has not reached the favorable level.

Now that Russia has sanctioned Turkey as one of its main suppliers of agricultural products, the Iranian businessmen have doubled their efforts to take the Russian market.

On November 23, High-ranking Iranian and Russian officials inked 7 cooperation Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Iran and Russia enjoy special positions on the international scene and have long had constant and regular consultations on key regional and global issues.

Over the last several years, Iran and Russia have had vast cooperation in different fields, especially in political and economic spheres.

Their bilateral trade volume registered a 10 percent hike in the first three months of 2015, as compared with the same period in 2014.

In February, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanayee said that Tehran and Moscow plan to start a considerable boost in their trade exchanges in the current year by utilizing all their economic capacities and potentials.

“Iran and Russia signed many agreements in 2014, and 2015 is the year for implementing these agreements,” Sanayee told FNA.

In December 2014, Sanayee announced that Tehran and Moscow planned to boost their trade exchanges to $70 billion in the near future.

“The two countries (Iran and Russia) are serious about implementing an economic memorandum of understanding (MoU) which has been recently signed at the joint economic commission which amounts to $70 billion,” Sanayee said, addressing a conference in Moscow.

He noted that Iran and Russia signed a major economic, trade and energy agreement in August 2014 which could pave the way for multiplying the two countries’ trade exchanges.

In March, Iran and Russia signed an MoU on the supervision of their central banks over the financial operations of the two countries’ banks.

“The MoU was signed by the deputy governors of the Iranian and Russian central banks during a visit to Moscow by a high-ranking Iranian banking and financial delegation from March 10 to 12,” Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanayee said at the time.

He noted that Iran’s banking delegation also visited Russia’s central bank and other major banks during its stay in Moscow.

In May, Tehran and Moscow started implementation of a recently signed MoU banking, including establishment of a joint bank to ease bilateral trade through using their national currencies.

“Three measures are underway (within the framework of this agreement), including opening of a joint bank account by Iran and Russia, presence of several Russian banks in Iran and choosing a Russian bank for rial-based trade exchanges in Russia,” Sanayee said, addressing a meeting of Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce in Moscow at the time.

He noted that the representatives of two Russian banks had come to Iran and had held talks with officials of the Central Bank of Iran in May, and said, “The second step to broaden banking relations between Iran and Russia will be opening a joint account.” Sanayee pointed to facilitating cash transfer for Iranian exporters through Russia’s Mir Business Bank as the third step to expand bilateral banking relations.

Over the last several years, Iran and Russia have had vast cooperation in different fields, specially in political and economic spheres.

The two states also enjoy special positions on the international scene and have long had constant and regular consultations on key regional and global issues.

Trucks carrying Turkish exports blocked at Russian border: Association

November 30, 2015 By administrator

DHA file photo

ISTANBUL – Reuters,

Around 1,250 trucks carrying Turkish exports have been blocked from entering Russia and are stranded at border posts awaiting clearance, a senior shipping industry representative told Reuters on Nov. 30.

Six days after NATO-member Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet in the first known incident of its kind since the Cold War, calls for calm have gone largely unheeded. Ankara refuses to back down and Russia responds with sanctions.

“Russia has not given permission to Turkish trucks for entry or transit passage for the past four days,” Fatih Şener, managing director of Turkey’s International Shippers Association (UND) said in an interview.

“Apart from the trucks waiting at the border posts, it doesn’t allow those that have entered the country but waiting to discharge their load at the customs. This is the case for Romanian, Bulgarian, Kazakh and Moldovan trucks carrying Turkish goods,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is waiting for an apology over the downing of an Su-24 warplane along the Turkish-Syrian border, and approved a round of economic sanctions against Ankara.

Trucks are stranded in Ukraine and Georgia for checks, which Şener says now are more thorough than before and that the economic cost of the delay since last week is around $50,000 to $60,000. Furthermore, a total of 800 containers are also waiting for clearance in the Turkish Black Sea port of Samsun and at the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

Around 100 trucks awaiting transit passage at the Russian border are now seeking alternative routes. “Azerbaijan has allowed entry and these trucks will go to Central Asia through this route, which is much more costly,” he said.

Turkey mainly sells food, agricultural products and textiles to Moscow and is also one of the most popular holiday destinations for Russians. Around 50 percent of Turkey’s exports into Russia, which totaled $6 billion last year, go by land.

Germany suspends spy tech exports to Turkey over democratic regression

February 25, 2015 By administrator

Chancellor Merkel

German authorities have suspended the sale of intelligence equipment to Turkey over its NATO ally’s regressing democracy under the rule of Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which allegedly profiles its own citizens, Today’s Zaman has learned.

According to German official sources, Turkey applied Berlin to purchase audio surveillance equipment and software to be used by the National Police Department last year. However, German authorities have failed to approve Turkey’s request. While the process of such a sale would normally last 6-8 weeks, the sale has not taken place yet although more than six months have passed.

German Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who is responsible for granting arms and intelligence technology export permits, is thought to have personally blocked the sale. Gabriel last year openly declared that he would use his right to veto surveillance and monitoring technologies export to anti-democratic countries to prevent spy software made in Germany from being used for internal repression by autocratic regimes.

Berlin’s new policy on spy technology export to Turkey comes on the heels of a series of diplomatic crises between the two countries in the past few years.

The relations between Germany and Turkey, two NATO allies, received a sharp blow due to an intelligence crisis in August of last year, when leaked records revealed that Germany had been spying on Turkey since 2009. While this incident angered Turkish authorities, Germany remained mostly silent about the claims.

A report by German magazine Der Spiegel suggested that Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) was and is still spying on Turkey, citing a confidential 2009 BND document.

Ties between Turkey and Germany were further strained after the recent arrest of three Turkish citizens in Germany on charges of spying on German-Turks for Turkish intelligence.

On Dec. 18, German federal prosecutors announced that three Turkish men had been arrested on charges of having close links with Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and spying on their compatriots in Germany for MİT. The three men are in custody, pending a possible indictment.

Turkish officials have denied that the three Turkish men arrested in Germany have any links with MİT.

Armenia has exported 49 tonnes of apricots

June 29, 2014 By administrator

Armenia has exported 49 tonnes of apricots to the Russian Federation and Switzerland announced the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture. Armenia has also exported 330 tonnes of sweet cherries to Russia and Georgia.

The Department of Agriculture provides that export apricot this year will fall to about 8,000 tonnes against 86,000 tonnes in 2013.