As of June 29th, local canneries had already purchased 1,173 tons of fruit and vegetables, including 514 tons of vegetables and 317 tons of apricots.
According to the deputy minister, Armenian companies have so far exported 68,000 metric tons of fruits and vegetables against 76,000 tons in the same period last year. As for apricots, local companies have exported 9,700 tons of it, up from 7,000 tons a year ago.
Robert Makaryan said the exports of Armenian fruits and vegetables are now being hindered by a rockfall near the Upper Lars border crossing on the Georgian-Russian border, forcing Armenian companies to choose ferryboats to transports the fruits and vegetables from Georgian Black Sea port of Poti to Russian Novorossiysk.
In April, the ministry of agriculture predicted that the apricot crop this year would amount to 45,000-55,000 tons, however, in early June, the crop was damaged by hailstorms.
According to official data, last year’s apricot yield was 103,000 tons, by 14,000 tons more than in 2014.
