The 2011 draft budget has not made any headway as compared with last year’s draft budget, Ara Nranyan, an MP of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), told journalists Oct 14. It is nothing but a financial document, he said.

According to him, it is not a draft budget aimed at development. “We will never make progress with such a budget. The budget message says what should have been written and done several years ago: economic diversification and export promotion,” the expert said.

The Armenian economy is still based on a couple of sectors, and a decline in the construction sector was followed by a decline in the agricultural sector. If the weather is the cause, it was to have been happened two or three years ago. However, no such decline has ever been registered before, he said.

Commenting on the Armenian Government’s decision to raise the excise tax, Nranyan said that it meets importers’ interests and will cause an increase in budget revenues. On the other hand, it will affect the right of local producers.