YEREVAN. - In the long term average price of table grapes in Armenia will not go below AMD 200 ($0.54) and will not exceed AMD 400 ($1.1) per kilogram, said the chairman of the Union of Armenian winemakers Avag Harutyunyan at a press conference on Friday.

According to him, the market will react on the growing demand for wine grape varieties with general increase of prices.

"However a marked prices growth is not possible: our neighbors - Turkey and Iran are among the world leaders in the cultivation of table grapes. They can export it for $0.6 - $0.7 per kilogram in virtually unlimited quantities. Too expensive local grape would be uncompetitive compared with imported one. Therefore, the cost of grapes per season will remain at AMD 200 – AMD 400," said Harutyunyan.

Note that in 2010 about 220 thousand tons of grapes were cultivated in Armenia. According to experts, the table varieties account for about 10% of the total harvest.