Today, there are companies in Armenia that produce cheese through Dutch technologies and export them to different countries along with Dutch companies. This is what Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated during the question-and-answer session with government officials in parliament today.

“To produce the cheese, they import milk powder to Armenia because the milk produced in Armenia doesn’t meet the standards required for producing high-quality products. Why doesn’t it meet the standards? It’s because we Armenians are used to producing milk with our hands and in a filthy way. We can’t ensure welfare with milk produced this way,” Pashinyan said, adding that Armenia has to raise the bars in order to ensure high welfare.

“Last year, I offered the smart barns plan. We organize training for the villagers, set the standards and give loans to villagers in bordering villages at zero interest rate. We give 1,000 socially disadvantaged families cows, buy the feed, provide the specialists and pay a monthly amount. I’m against people complaining all the time,” he said.

Pashinyan declared that not all sour creams in stores are made from real milk and that he has assigned government officials to set a standard to make sure sour creams differentiated by color.