Opposition lawmaker Tadevos Avetisyan has warned that Turkish tomato imports could harm Armenian farmers, saying Turkey's agricultural sector receives about 2 to 2.5 times more state support than Armenia's.
Speaking at a meeting of parliament's economic affairs committee on Friday, the Hayastan faction MP said the imbalance would make locally grown greenhouse tomatoes uncompetitive once they enter the market. He urged stronger government regulation, calling current measures "not only necessary but overdue".
The discussion came as lawmakers reviewed proposed amendments to the Law on State Duty that would raise import tariffs on Iranian steel rebar from 20 to 50 times current levels, citing state subsidies that make Iranian steel cheaper. Deputy Economy Minister Edgar Ghazaryan said the government suggests a 45-fold duty instead, based on Iran's subsidized gas and production costs.
Avetisyan criticized the government for intervening in industrial imports but not in agriculture, questioning whether geopolitical factors influenced the approach. Ruling party MP Babken Tunyan responded that while Turkish tomatoes were once exported to Russia under Armenian labels, today Armenian-grown tomatoes are being exported directly.
Source: Panorama
