YEREVAN. – The sheep exports from Armenia have virtually stopped in the second half of 2013, as solely 1,500 sheep were exported, whereas this was 19,000 in the first quarter of this year.

To note, the sheep exports from Armenia fell sharply in 2012 and made up about 61,000 sheep per year, albeit they steadily were over 100,000 in the previous three years.  

The sheep were primarily exported to Iran, and a small quantity was sent to the United Arab Emirates.  

To remind, the mass sheep exports to Iran began in 2009 and reached about 140,000 sheep per year. There was an initial concern that such volume of sheep exports would cause a sharp drop in the number of sheep in Armenia; but this did not happen. According to official data, the number of sheep in Armenia is stably over 500,000 in recent years, and it is close to 600,000 at present.