Armenian Fruits Enter Oman Market

Armenia began to supply the first batches of fruits and berries to Oman, expanding the geography of exports amid restrictions on the import of a number of Armenian goods to Russia. The development of the new direction was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic Ararat Mirzoyan.

According to the foreign Minister, Oman has already sent apricots, cherries, peaches, nectarines and strawberries. So far, we are talking about small trial batches that have appeared in large retail chains of the country - Lulu hypermarkets and Suhol al-Faiha supermarkets.

Mirzoyan noted that Armenian products were presented in the segment of high-quality fruits. The authorities of the Republic expect to increase the volume of supplies. In the future, Armenia intends to export other fruits, berries, apples and grapes to Oman.

Oman has become one of the new destinations for Armenian producers. According to the minister, Yerevan is also working on entering other promising foreign markets.

The search for new buyers comes amid restrictions imposed by Russian authorities on agricultural and other products from Armenia. In May, Rosselkhoznadzor restricted the supply of Armenian flowers, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and strawberries. Later, the restrictions were cherries, grapes, apples, pears, quince, eggplant, potatoes and dried fruits. The transit of a number of these goods to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union was also prohibited.

In late July, Russia imposed a ban on imports of Armenian dairy products. In addition, Rospotrebnadzor reported on the identification of low-quality alcohol of Armenian production and the suspension of its sale in Russia. The Ministry also demanded to stop the certification of live fish for export from Armenia.

The Russian side explained the restrictions by the need to ensure the safety of the supplied goods. The Russian Foreign Ministry rejected the interpretation of these measures as restrictions against Armenia.

Yerevan has challenged Russian restrictions within the EAEU. In one direction, the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission supported the position of Armenia, but the representative of Russia opposed the decision and used the veto.

Against the backdrop of trade disputes, Armenia received additional support from the European Union. In June, the European Commission allocated 34 million euros to compensate for the effects of trade restrictions and decided to reduce duties on 80% of Armenian exports.