YEREVAN, DECEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. This year potato crop yield declined by 30-40% in Armenia, which resulted in a price growth. 400 thousand tons of potatoes and about the same amount of grain is consumed in Armenia every year. Hrach Berberian, Chairman of the Agrarian-Peasant Union of Armenia (APUA), stated at the December 27 press conference that both bad weather and low-quality seeds were the cause of the low potato crop yield. According to him, some farmers preferred to use cheap seeds and had poor harvest, while the yield of Dutch seeds was much higher. H. Berberian said that next year the APUA will import 500 tons of potato seeds from the Netherlands, although this makes small part of the existing demand. In his words, the state does not control the chemical pest and weed killers' market, and out-of-date pest and weed killers are often imported in Armenia. He noted that in recent years only nitrogenous fertilizers are imported, which is impermissible as other fertilizers are necessary for soil as well.

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