Tuesday 17 August 2010

Armenian News

IMF "CONCERNED" OVER ARMENIAN ECONOMY
news.am
July 26 2010
Armenia


The IMF plans to reduce the medium-term national debt indicators,
Guillermo Tolosa, IMF Resident Representative in Armenia, told NEWS.am,
responding to a question concerning the national debt management risks
in Armenia in the light of the IMF being Armenia's largest creditor.

He does not see any risks related to Armenia's national debt. Tolosa
advises the RA Government to implement reforms to ensure high economic
growth.

By March 1, 2020, Armenia's national debt had reached U.S. $2.9bn -
a 66.6% increase as compared to last year. The IMF issued a U.S. $800m
credit for anti-crisis measures.

As regards economic growth rates, Tolosa said that an unusually high
growth was registered in the first quarter. The IMF forecasts 4.8%
economic growth in Armenia. Tolorosa reaffirmed the forecast.
IMPORT, EXPORT VOLUMES RISE
Aysor
July 27 2010
Armenia


Goods of USD 1 750m were imported to Armenia in the first six months
of 2010. Goods of USD 445m were exported from the country in the same
period, State Revenue Committee State Customs Service reported.

Import and export volumes rose against the same period of 2009:
goods of USD 1 408m were imported, USD 321m exported in the first
six months of 2009.

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS WON'T TRAVEL TO TURKEY
Aysor
July 27 2010
Armenia


Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II will not participate in the
services to be offered on September 19 at the Armenian Church of
Surb Khach (St Cross) in Turkey, a spokesperson to press office of
The Echmiadzin Catholicosate told media.

The Armenian Church of Surb Khach is located in modern Turkey, on
Akhtamar Island. After official restoration works, there was not set
a cross on its dome, ignoring the Christian tradition.

The Armenian delegation to Turkey will involve two representatives
of The Echmiadzin Catholicosate.
RFE/RL Report
Bread Prices Rise In Armenia
29.07.2010
Sargis Harutyunyan, Ruben Meloyan


The prices of bread and flour in Armenia have risen by roughly 20
percent in recent days as a result of the Armenian government says is
a significant decrease in global wheat output expected this autumn.


Agriculture Minister Gerasim Alaverdian said on Thursday that the drop
will be particularly sharp in Russia, Armenia's leading wheat supplier
grappling with its worst drought in decades.

`There is a lot of concern that it will become much more expensive,
that this year's harvest will fall well short of the 2009 level,'
Alaverdian told journalists. `Our businessmen work with those
[wheat-producing] states and have credible information that wheat
prices will rise. So they are adjusting their pricing policy
accordingly.'

Government critics dismissed this explanation, arguing that wholesale
importers are still selling wheat and flour which they purchased last
fall at much lower prices. They said this is made possible by a de
facto monopolization of wheat import by two companies.

The largest of them, Aleks-Grig, is controlled by Samvel Aleksanian, a
wealthy businessman close to Armenia's leadership. Aleksanian also
controls lucrative imports of other basic foodstuffs to the country.

`Our businessmen often blame international price rises, while still
selling their old stuff,' Hrach Berberian, chairman of the Armenian
Agrarian-Peasant Union, told RFE/RL's Armenian service. `They are just
making huge profits.'

Berberian said the State Commission on the Protection of Economic
Competition (SCPEC) should immediately step in and impose sanctions
envisaged by Armenian anti-trust legislation.

However, the chairman of the SCPEC, Artak Shaboyan, indicated on
Wednesday, that the regulatory body will not rush to take any punitive
measures against the importers. `The commission is not a price
regulation body,' Shaboyan told journalists. `Our job is only to deal
with abuses of competition legislation.'

Alaverdian, for his part, said the best way to guard against price
fluctuations in international markets is to ease Armenia's heavy
dependence on wheat imports. According to the National Statistical
Service, Armenian farmers grew just over one third of about 600,000
tons of wheat consumed by the country last year.

Earlier on Thursday, the Armenian government formally approved a
five-year program which it says will boost domestic wheat output to
over 350,000 tons by 2013. The program puts the emphasis on use of
new, more productive sorts of seeds to be imported from Russia or
grown by local agricultural firms.

The Ministry of Agriculture is to import 1,000 tons of Russian `elite'
seeds and distribute them to farmers this year. The government
allocated 558 million drams ($1.5 million) for that purpose.


ARMENIA'S INTERNATIONAL ZVARTNOST AIRPORT HANDLES
647,000 PASSENGERS IN FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2010
/ARKA/
July 28, 2010
YEREVAN

Armenia's international Zvartnost airport handled 647,000 passengers in
the first six months of 2010, up from 583,500 in the first six months
of 2009, the Chief Civil Aviation Department said in a press release.

It said some 300,300 people arrived in Armenia in Jan.-June through
the airport, up from 274,300 a year before. The number of people
who departed through the airport rose from 309,200 in Jan.-June 2009
to 347,600.

Also some 2,493 tons of goods were brought to Armenia through Zvartnots
(up from 2,237 tons in Jan.-June 2009) and 1,579 tons were imported
(up from 1,267 in the first six months of 2009). According to Chief
Civil Aviation Department, the number of passengers arriving in
Armenia through the second largest airport in Gyumri rose from 9,400
in Jan.-June 2009 to 11,400.


ARMENIAN NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM IS RANKED THE 70TH
AT THE RANKING LIST OF IFFHS
ARMENPRESS
JULY 26, 2010
YEREVAN


YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian National Football team
is ranked the 70th with 156 points in the ranking list of the
International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).

The list is topped by the Spanish National Football team which has
580 points. Brazil and Argentine are the 2d and the 3d respectively.

The Georgian team is ranked the 43d with 206 points, and the
Azerbaijani one is the 99th with 115 points.
YURI DJORKAEFF SAYS WANTS TO TRAIN ARMENIAN FOOTBALL
TEAM
Aysor
July 27 2010
Armenia


The World and European champion, former player of the French national
football team, Yuri Djorkaeff said he wants to lead the national
football team of Armenia.

He said that hasn't yet received any proposals from Armenia, however,
he will be pleased to hold the post of Armenian coach. Djorkaeff said
in his interview with Francefootball.fr: "It would be nice to become
a holder of that office one fine day. This would be an interesting
adventure."

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