Comments on: Armenia will survive the global food crisis

By: alexandru

alexandru — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:04:54 +0000

In many ways the root of the financial crisis is the housing correction which has resulted in illiquid mortgage-related assets that are choking off the flow of credit which is so vitally important to any country. Not only in America this things have happened but in other countries too. The problem is that normally an average family should afford an average house. In reality things stay differently because a family must necessarily get a loan so that they can afford a house. The problem is that this kind of behavior kills he economical workflow. So instead of buying directly the houses, people are taking credits from the banks. So if you want a normal house, you must take a loan to afford it and then work your ass of for the next 20 years. This gets the market very slow until the point where a financial crisis like this happens. Of course there are other factors that contributed to this event but this is one of the major ones. And what’s worst is that the crisis is not even close to an end. So do you think you can overcome by taking the usual steps when facing a crisis? Nobody will remain unharmed by this period.

Visit http://www.how-to-survive-the-crisis.com for more information.

By: Armenian Transliteration

Armenian Transliteration — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:40:01 +0000

The situation in Armenia with resources such as food and electricity was always difficult. Now it’s not a wartime but the country is still lacks trade exchanges with its partners. I just hope that the current situation will not become worth. The balance is the most important thing which will keep the country more or less healthy.

By: Observer

Observer — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:39:03 +0000

Arthur – well said. Indeed, that’s the heart of the problem!

By: arthur

arthur — Sun, 25 May 2008 08:08:16 +0000

why to produce if they can import and make a lot of money

By: Onnik Krikorian

Onnik Krikorian — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:00:35 +0000

Glad to hear something is happening in this direction.

There was apparently a $250,000 feasibility study, but nothing came of it.

http://www.armeniaemb.org/ArmeniaUS/USATF/1.htm

I remember rumors of Lfik Samo and the attempt some years back, however.

Most recently, it was also mentioned here:

http://go-armenia.blogspot.com/2007/07/never-ending-sugar-saga.html

Not sure how much of this is true or not. Regardless, I hope that the sugar refining business can become established again in the earthquake disaster region whoever does it.

By: Observer

Observer — Wed, 21 May 2008 10:40:24 +0000

As to the ‘sugar’ production – there were Sugar plants in Gyumri and Spitak back in Soviet times, and several villages were specialized in growing sweet turnip, used for sugar production. In the 90′s, when production died down, people started planting potatos, to feed themselves, Sugar plants were robbed, equipment sold, so now we don’t have anything.

There is a plant being built right now in Akhuryan, as far as I remember, it is Hrant Vardanyan doing the investment. I’m really not aware of any obstacles from the side of Lfik, but given the fact that he is the import monopolist for sugar – it is highly probable.

By: Observer

Observer — Wed, 21 May 2008 10:35:04 +0000

Grigor – food industry here is mainly organic, because nobody can invest in genetically modified seeds and chemical products. Moreover, two years ago there were attempts to plant seeds brought from the Netherlands – genetically modified potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, but it turned out, that such seeds only render good crops for one year, so you’d have to buy the seeds from the Netherlands again – you can’t collect them and plant again next year. This proved too expansive, so everyone reverted to ‘organic’ seeds.

By: sem63

sem63 — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:40:00 +0000

I think I have read somewhere that one of Serj’s stated goals is to grow all the wheat we need in Armenia by 2012. Can someone confirm this?

By: Onnik Krikorian

Onnik Krikorian — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:37:38 +0000

Not sure about vegetable oil, but Armenia should be able to produce some of its own sugar. Rumor is that USAID wanted to finance sugar refining around Gyumri some years back, but it was prevented. Observer, as you’re from Gyumri, maybe you can shed some more light on this. There was definitely talk of a feasibility study, but it might have been stopped for another reason, I suppose. However, as Lfik Samo controls the import of sugar and as it would have created more jobs in the earthquake region, I tend to suspect that the rumors are worth looking into.

By: grigor sargsyan

grigor sargsyan — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:56:22 +0000

Observer, is the food industry of Armenian mainly organic?

I kind of disagree with you that we should have no problem with producing sugar and vegetable oil. The country is small, and small countries usually cannot produce everything exactly because they don’t have much space to grow things. Of course, I am not as informed as you are but could this be the reason behind the fact that we don’t produce oil and sugar. See for instance we import 60% wheat and you know how difficult it is to grow wheat. If I am not mistaken you cannot use the same soil for two consecutive years to grow wheat.

Also, are there any non-diary “diary” things in Armenia, like soy milk and etc?

But anyway, I was actually positively surprised that we are so independent when it comes to food.

By: Global Voices Online » Armenia: Global Food Crisis

Global Voices Online » Armenia: Global Food Crisis — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:34:40 +0000

[...] Armenian Observer says that despite the global food crisis, the country is self-sufficient in most foods and so seems likely to be spared shortages in the future. However, figures for the import of wheat and sugar are high. It also says that rising prices are [...]