Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Prices for vegetables and potatoes up 12.6% in Armenia in September
Prices for vegetables and potatoes rose 12.6% in Armenia in September 2015, compared with the same month a year before, Gurgen Martirosyan, chief of the National Statistical Service’s price and international comparison division, said on Wednesday.
“Although in September, compared with the previous month, food prices remained unchanged, prices for some products still went up,” he said. “In particular, vegetables and potato prices rose 3.5% in September 2015, compared with August 2015, and 12.6%, compared with September 2014.”
Martirosyan said that the price rise in ‘vegetables and potatoes’ group was mainly due to increase in prices for mushrooms (4.1%), cucumbers (4.8%), green onion (18.3%), eggplants (18.3%), garlic (19.8%), tomatoes (27.1%) and cabbage (31%).
Instead, other products became cheaper in September, compared with August. Carrot prices fell 18.7%, cauliflower ones dropped 13.7%, onion ones slipped 9%, green pepper ones slid (5.9%) and potatoes became 2% less expensive.
Answering ARKA News Agency’s question, Martirosyan said that despite crops in 2015 were richer than one year before, prices for vegetables and potatoes were impacted by the devaluation of the Armenian dram – the national currency fell 18% in September 2015, compared with September 2014.
At the same time, he said, farmers’ prices for their products dropped 20-25%.
“As a rule, if farmer prices for agricultural products are lower than one year before, at consumer market they remain unchanged or go down slightly - the matter is price-making process,” Martirosyan said.
He said that fruits became 4.8% cheaper in September 2015 than in September 2014 and slid 1.7%, compared with August 2015.