Armen Zakaryan, Acting Director of Yerevan Ararat Brandy-Wine-Vodka Factory, has reminded the Armenian authorities of the need to start the grape procurement process as soon as possible.

Speaking to reporters outside the government building, where the protest of employees of facilities closed by the authorities was taking place, Zakaryan said that people had gathered with a request and demand to restore the normal operation of the aforesaid factory so that they would be allowed to fulfill their labor and contractual obligations.

“Grape harvesting will begin [in Armenia] in early September, and we need to prepare for that process,” Zakaryan emphasized, adding that there is an agreement with the largest partner, Synergy, to provide an advance payment of $4–5 million for grape harvesting.

According to Zakaryan, the enterprise’s downtime has already caused huge financial and reputational losses: relationships that took 25 years to build are being destroyed, and a reputation for being an unreliable partner is being acquired.

Zakaryan also informed that they have preliminary agreements with more than 2,000 grape growers. “If we don’t procure grapes from them, serious problems will arise with sales. They did everything they could within the framework of the investigation, from searching to detaining the director, and we have provided all the necessary documents. It is unclear what is preventing the resumption of work.”

Yerevan Ararat Brandy-Wine-Vodka Factory has about 400 employees, and due to uncertainty, they cannot give a clear answer as to when work will resume. The enterprise has been closed since July 6.