Coffee market in Armenia has dwindled over the last few years, Raffi Mkhchyan, Director General of Raffael Contini Trading Company JV LTD (Rio Grande brand) told Armenian News – NEWS.am.   

“I don’t know what to say about the reasons – either the people have emigrated or their income has decreased. Hence, people are forced to look for cheaper coffee, even if it is worse in quality,” Mkhchyan said.

I was walking in the street once when I heard a talk. One asks the other: “How much have you got?” The second answers: “200 drams, and there’s no bread at home.” The first: “Never mind, buy a coffee package.” Even the poorest drink coffee here; it suppresses appetite. But, unfortunately, what is drunk in Armenia cannot always be called coffee,” Mkhchyan said.   

Even if we speak of natural coffee, the coffee cup of the Armenian consumer is dominated by Robusta. “Its correlation with Arabica is 95/5 in our market, at best,” the entrepreneur said.