YEREVAN. – Atom Janjughazyan, Deputy Minister of Finance and Chief Treasurer of Armenia, stated that retail trade in the country fell by more than 4 percent due to the fact that people prefer to consume less and save more, according to Chorrord Ishkhanutyun newspaper.

“And we naively thought that the people’s money had decreased, and that’s why they spend less. It turns out that money has not decreased; it’s just that people [in Armenia] prefer to save [money]; in other words, they have become stingier. They all together decided to go on a diet and eat less, and that’s why the volume of food consumption has dropped [in the country].

“And in general, all indicators presented by the statistical service [of Armenia] are excellent; it’s just that the people [in the country] are to blame [for the poor indicators],” Chorrord Ishkhanutyun wrote with sarcasm.