YEREVAN, February 15. /ARKA/. Armenia has a huge potential for the export of sheep, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting on Friday. According to him, the government has been discussing this issue with the private sector since last year.
"There is a huge demand for Armenian lamb and mutton outside the country, but our sheep breeders are unable to meet it and have to import mutton from third countries in order to re-export it," said Pashinyan.
According to Aram Gharibyan, an advisor to Prime Minister, Iran is ready to import 50,000 sheep a month from Armenia and pay 2,800-2,900 drams per kilogram of lamb meat.
He said there are about 700,000 sheep in Armenia, which implies 500 thousand potential lambs. ‘Considering the expansion of production by some farmers, I think it will be possible to ensure domestic production for several years," said Gharibyan.
He said increased lending to sheep breeders at profitable terms will encourage farmers to breed more sheep.–0–