The Armenian budget will save 1.2 million drams on fertilizer subsidy, said the Armenian Minister of Agriculture Ignat Arakelyan.   

According to him, it has been possible to achieve these results by purchasing fertilizers providing a competition at the market. The government received applications from 19 local and foreign companies. The Armenian Ministry of Agriculture chose one of the companies that will supply the goods at a cheaper price, without taking a loan, as it was in 2016.

"At that time we allocated a loan of 4 billion drams at a low-interest rate and about $ 2.1 billion for the subsidy to fill in the gap between the state price of 6 thousand per sack weighing 50 kg and the tender price of investors (about 7 thousand). If previously, it was one company that imported the fertilizers, starting from 2017 there will be 6 (out of 32 thousand), " the minister said. He also noted, that the Russian company Don Trade Agro Chemical Centre and the Armenian Baran Group company will import fertilizers to Armenia together with the other four.

The price for a nitrogen fertilizer sack reduced form AMD 8500-8700 to 7000, and in some cases even more. The prices for potassic and phosphate fertilizers have also decreased: from 13.8 thousand to 10.9 thousand and from 13.7 thousand to 13.2 thousand, respectively.