YEREVAN. – There should be no monopolies in Armenia, the opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan told RBK.

His remark came in response to comment on economic initiatives that he will offer if he becomes Armenian PM before the early parliamentary elections.

According to him, 20 thousand food items are imported in Armenia by a very narrow circle of businessmen.

“Carrefour Group is one of the largest companies in sugar trade. But this company is forbidden to import sugar to Armenia. We need to allow them to do this as well as to allow other companies, and we will definitely do it. And we also intend to reform the trade system in order to destroy the shadow economy,” he said.

According to him, it is proposed to make a single bonus system in the Armenian payment system- in taxis, shops and services.

“Some percentage of annual purchases will be accumulated in your open bank account. The tax authorities will register these transactions and take a duty. We estimated that this would lead to almost a 30% increase in the budget in a year. This means raising wages, pensions, and so on,” he said.

Asked to comment on Armenian dependence on Russian business, particularly in gas, Pashinyan noted: “Russian gas is really quite cheap on the border. When it comes to people, the price grows twice. We will work to understand why this is happening, and I hope we will have some opportunities to reduce the price for the domestic market,” he concluded.