Armenia: Bakery market keeps facing surge despite lowered flour prices

The prices for bakery products keep surging in Armenia though the major flour manufacturers say they have significantly reduced their price offer. 

Mancho Group and Manana Grain, which are big stakeholders on the Armenian market, have decreased the per 50kg. price of flour by 1,650 Drams ($4.05).


Speaking to Tert.am, Mancho Group CEO Ivan Mosoyan said they have reduced the price by four times in the past 15 days.


“The surge in the bakery prices has absolutely nothing to do with us,” he said. “We have reduced the price by 1,650 Drams for every sack [of flour]; so they shouldn’t have permitted the surge as that covers natural gas and electricity expenses.”


Mosoyan explained their price policies by the lowering wheat prices in Russia. “But because they raised the costs for the power generating substances – and because we do not want the bread prices to go up – we lowered the prices flour flour,” he said.

Mosoyan added that despite the lowering trend on the Russian market, wheat now sells for a 30 Dollar higher price in the country. If the surge continues, he said, the company will have to increase the prices of flour.

“We have reduced the price for a 50kg. [flour] sack by 4 Dollars. It may go up by 1 Dollar again, bit we don’t know ot for sure now,” he added.

As for Manana Group, the company’s CEO Gurgen Nikoghosyan also confirmed that the flour prices have been reduced by 1,650 Drams since July.

“Bread prices have surged, but that isn’t under our responsibility. There has been a surge in the natural gas and electricity prices, so those are their calculations,” he explained.

Asked whether future surge on the flour market is possible, Nikoghosyan hesitated to give a definitive answer, saying only that the market permanently experiences volatility

“I do not make any predictions for now. I guide myself by the prime cost which determines the price,” he noted.

In further comments to Tert.am, President of the Consumers’ Rights Protection NGO Armen Poghosyan said the impact of the lowered flour prices is significantly essential.

“That should have impacted the bread [prices]. It is a chain we don’t see the outcome of; hence the State Committee for Protection of Economic Competition, which says there are no dominant positions on the market, has something to do in this connection. We are aware that the import is monopolized,” he said, calling for appropriate efforts to monitor the market.

A Committee representative had earlier told Tert.am that the presence of a manufacturer with monopolistic positions on the market prevents them from taking any specific steps.