The first batch of wheat imported from Kazakhstan was for fodder, emphasis was placed on the diversification of import routes. Deputy Minister of Economy

In a conversation with journalists, Deputy Minister of Economy Edgar Zakaryan referred to the topic discussed in recent days, the issues surrounding the quality of wheat imported to Armenia.

Journalists were interested in why the public was not informed in advance that the wheat imported in the first batch was mainly intended for fodder.

The deputy minister noted that the ministry is aware of the processes, but emphasis was placed on the diversification of import routes. "Wheat is imported for different purposes. The first group was for fodder. In the initial announcements, it was about diversification, not about the quality of the specific batch," he said.

Journalists noted that the public was under the impression that imports could reduce the price of bread, so it was necessary to openly state that imported wheat is not nutritious. The deputy minister answered that the price of bread is affected by many factors, and only changing the import routes is not enough to reduce the price. "There are several components in the price of bread. Diversification can have an effect, but it does not automatically mean a decrease in price. In this regard, the ministry did not make any contrary hint," he noted.

To the question, if Kazakhstan had not announced the additional information of the imported wheat first, would Armenia have announced it to the public, the deputy minister answered that he did not have data about the source of this information, but emphasized that "there is no secrecy" in the import process. According to the deputy minister, the next batch of high-quality food wheat has already been imported from Russia.