YEREVAN. - The gross production volume of Armenian agriculture grew by 11.7 percent in 2015, making up 1 trn 2 bln AMD (roughly $2,04), Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetyan said today at the governmental consultation on the Agriculture Ministry’s work in 2015. 

The percentage of targeted use of croplands grew by 78.8 percent, he added.

Under the order endorsed by the government, farmers got loan at 14 percent, 6 percentage points of which were subsidized. The total portfolio of subsidized loans made up about 15.2 bln AMD in 2015.  

The agricultural product processing companies procured 43.5 thousand tons of vegetables, or 27.6 percent more than in 2014, and 20.6 thousand tons of fruit, or 48.3 percent more than in 2014.

In 2015, 76.7 tons of fruit and vegetables were exported from the republic, including 34.4 thousand tons of fruit and berries, 21.3 thousand of which were apricots.  

PM Hovik Abrahamyan urged the representatives of the Agriculture Ministry to continue making trips to provinces, as well as holding discussions with businessmen. He also instructed to get familiar with the problems in provinces and find solutions to them.