At the “Hayeli” club, Armenak Khachatryan, the owner of Baghramyan poultry, who currently is importing eggs from Russia, told how his business was closed in Armenia. Moreover, he threatened that if the new Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan does not take actions to save local producers, he will immigrate. Armenak Khachatryan told that several poultries are included in his company: “Havitsa” company and so on, he had 450 employees.
But now, he operated Gndevaz Poultry with 10-15 employees, “All my plants are closed and my 450 workers are unemployed. I have imported eggs to fill the market gap. In the summer, I was selling eggs for 30 drams a piece, I could not stand the competition and I had to slaughter the last 50-60 chicken. He said that he was a delivery man and thanks to his industriousness, he set up a business, and now, the companies are going bankrupt one after another, “I am in the market since 2008. The first major blow happened in December 2014 during the inflation.
The loans were in dollars and I received a loan with 13 percent. We did not bring up the price. We began to alert state instances. The former Prime Minister accepted us 3 times, the minister of economy too, a round table meeting was organized and the bank attended too. The bank said, state, do one step and I will do three steps to overcome this situation. I have paid 3 million principal amount in 3 years and 3 million 200 thousand drams as interest. I have made my economy running under these conditions. But that was it, I can no longer make it again. I have no other businesses on the side to save him. On December 28, the doors were closed and locked, whatever I could do I did. Now, the new PM gives promises, I want to test him too.”
To our question that there are many companies operating in the market, so how they are able to compete, while you – cannot, Armenak Khachatryan replied that everyone is complaining about. He said that now he is importing eggs but Sergey Stepanyan, the president of the Union of Poultry Breeders, has begun divulging rumors that eggs are imported with unknown origin and without a brand name. He said that there was pressure on the president of the association, “Do you know what the unknown origin is? It is when the eggs are imported illegally, it is not even written where they were imported. There is no such a thing, we are not traitors to the nation.”
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To our question as to who has exerted pressure on the president of the association to say such a thing, he replied, “Maybe the plants.” We clarified whether this means that they are digging a hole underneath him, he replied, “We need to have a foundation to dig, if we are sitting loose, they can dig underneath. I will tell you what happened. My son has attended, they came together for the president’s supervision, who control the chicken and eggs – Fidanyan – they have gathered and a question was raised that eggs are imported, they have told Sergey Stepanyan so much that he made such a statement. When I was complaining, why did they not organize a round table one day? The egg that is imported is in quality with all laboratory reports.”
The reporters asked the business entity to make his demand more specific. He said, “At this point, I want to have a state support. Now, if I do not push the start, I am going to leave the country with my family.” He said that he is non-partisan and is not involved in the politics but he is becoming an economic opposition. We clarified that he has come to tell that if they do not support you, they should not rely on you, he replied that he had discussed the issue with Artsvik Minasyan, “But the impression is that his conscience worries him and they can do nothing and in the end, they reach an impasse. I have offered to supply chicken and eggs to the army, let them give a guarantee something to be refinanced and work again.” We asked how long he intends to wait, after which he threatens to immigrate, Armensk Khachatryan replied, “Till Monday”.
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
