The appeal came as many shoppers at supermarkets and grocery stores in Yerevan bought unusually large quantities of flour, sugar and cooking oil mostly imported from Russia.
The apparent panic buying followed Moscow’s decision to ban wheat exports to the other members of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), including Armenia, until September.
The Russian government said on Thursday that the ban will not hurt the four former Soviet republics because they have already imported tax-free sufficient amounts of Russian wheat for this year. The ban is designed to prevent wheat re-exports to third countries, it said.
Armenia - A shopper carries two bags of flour outside a supermarket in Yerevan, March 11, 2022.
Armenia is especially dependent on imports of Russian wheat, which met more than two-thirds of its domestic demand last year. Russia also accounts for 97 percent of cooking oil consumed by the South Caucasus country and nearly half of its sugar imports. Exports of Russian sugar were also restricted on Thursday.
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian assured Armenians that shortages of these and other basic foodstuffs are extremely unlikely in the months ahead.
“We are in touch with our Russian partners, and even if export restrictions are imposed by the Russian Federation Armenia has all necessary resources to ensure the food security of its population,” said Kerobian. “We call on citizens not to create panic and make undue purchases.”
RUSSIA -- Farmers use a combine harvester as they harvest a wheat field in the southern Russian region of Stavropol, July 9, 2014
The heads of two Armenian firms importing wheat, who asked not to identified, were also sanguine about the Russian ban. They said they have already stored enough wheat and could also buy it from other countries, if necessary.
Both Kerobian and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian predicted last week that the conflict in Ukraine will push up food prices in Armenia, which already soared last year. The economy minister spoke of a “serious challenge to our food security” anticipated this year. He also urged Armenian farmers to cultivate more land, saying that the price hikes will make farming “more lucrative.”
Tadevos Avetisian, an economist and opposition lawmaker, dismissed Kerobian’s calls. He said that a lack of subsidies and other forms of government support for farmers bodes ill for the country’s agricultural output.