YEREVAN.- Prices for beef and bread are likely to go down in Armenia in the near future, Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetyan told journalists.

Rise in prices for beef in the domestic market the minister explained by growing prices in the international market and the fact that cattle breeding is mainly concentrated in the mountains. The delivery of meat from the mountainous areas requires additional costs, thus farmers include them in the price of meat.

Karapetyan recalled that over the past 6 months, meat in the international market went up by 15-20%, while in neighboring Georgia by 25%. In Armenia prices went up by 9-10% “only”, while price for pork and lamb went down.

As for the bread, Minister Karapetyan said that price in international grain markets has gone down by 15-20%. However, it was not tangible in Armenia as the country had already imported large quantities of grain at high prices.

Sergo Karapetyan pointed out this year’s good grain crop on national level - about 215 thousand tons against 183 thousand tons in 2010.