The Ministry of Economy of Armenian has presented several programs to support the export of agricultural products to the European Union (EU) and the Middle East. Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan, who is on vacation to participate in the ruling party’s parliamentary election campaign, announced this to reporters Monday.

According to Papoyan, this concerns the reimbursement of transportation costs, customs duties, as well as expenses related to intellectual property.

He informed that since the beginning of the year, exports from Armenia to the EU have doubled, but Yerevan is even more “aggressive” and aims to increase it by 4-5 times by the end of the year.

Papoyan explained that both vegetables, fruits, and products of the processing industry of Armenia are exported to the EU.

“Fruits and vegetables being exported from Armenia have one of the highest certificates in terms of their standards, the Global G.A.P. Certificate. That is what is sold in supermarkets in European countries.

But there are also other costs; for example, transportation. We have introduced a support program and will aggressively subsidize so that [Armenia’s] producers can offer competitive prices for the European market. The volume of support for flower exports will amount to $5.5 million by the end of the year, and for tomato and pepper exports—$3.5 million each. Exports will be oriented towards all European countries, from Greece to Germany.

At the same time, Armenia hopes to receive direct financial support from the European Union and should receive it. European partners have promised to resolve this issue within 10 months,” Papoyan said.

He assured that the quality of Armenian products meets the highest standards of both the EAEU and the EU.

Also, the Armenian economy minister assured that there is no surplus of tomatoes in the domestic market, as evidenced by high prices. He did not rule out that the price of one kilogram could drop to 400-500 drams.