A part of “Areni” grapes intended for wine production in Armenia will be used for alcohol production.

At the November 12 meeting, the government decided to provide 173 million drams of support to the company that procured those grapes in order to avoid sales problems and preserve the vineyards. Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan according to him, the problem of procurement of this year’s crop has been solved, but the state support is a temporary measure.

According to the minister’s presentation, in recent years winemaking companies prefer to produce wine from the crops grown in their own vineyards. This allows to control the quality of the raw materials and ensure the traceability of the products, but at the same time it creates difficulties for the farmers who grow grapes to sell to the processing plants.

According to Papoyan, in 2026, about 5,400 tons of “Areni” grapes were produced in Armenia, of which about 2,900 tons belonged to wine companies or were procured for their needs. There is a problem of selling the remaining 2,500 tons.

Since “Areni” is mainly a type intended for the production of high-quality wine, and its market price significantly exceeds the value of technical grapes for the production of alcohol, the government has decided to financially encourage processors.

According to the adopted decision, in case of purchasing “Areni” grapes grown in Vayots Dzor with a volume of at least 800 tons and at least 210 AMD per kilogram, farmers will be given a subsidy of 70 AMD for each kilogram. For comparison, the procurement price of technical grapes this year fluctuated between 135-150 AMD, while the market value of “Areni” was 200-250 AMD and more.

According to the minister, within the framework of the program, the Getap wine factory has already procured 2478 tons of “Areni” grapes for technical purposes, for which the planned state support amounts to about 173 million drams.

“We actually solved the problem of the population of an entire region, but at the same time preserving the gardens, we solved the problem of the gardens,” stated Papoyan.

According to the minister, the purpose of the state intervention is also to preserve this type of grape orchards typical of the region. At the same time, the government plans to promote the development of small wineries and create a wine tourism cluster, so that winegrowers can sell their products at a higher added value in the future.

“These are temporary measures. After all, our goal is that those small producers have small productions themselves,” Papoyan emphasized.

Deputy Prime Minister during the discussion Mher Grigoryan also raised the issue of checking the type of grapes to be purchased. He expressed concern that without clear registration and digital identification of vineyards, it is possible to provide state support for the procurement of other types of grapes.

Papoyan assured that during the procurement, the representatives of the regional administration and community authorities checked the type of grapes on the spot before accepting each batch. At the same time, he admitted that the planned system of digital accounting of vineyards and procurement process has not yet been fully implemented. According to the minister, the implementation of the system developed with the participation of Italian partners will allow to digitize the procurement process of not only “Areni”, but also other agricultural products.

Referring to the general results of grape procurement, Papoyan said that this year, around 200,000 tons of grapes were procured in Armenia, instead of the previously planned 180-185,000 tons. According to him, some of the additional purchases were due to export restrictions, as a result of which table grapes and other types of grapes were also sent for processing.

“Neither this year, nor last year, nor in 2024, one kilogram of grapes was left anywhere in the field,” the minister stated.

At the same time, Mher Grigoryann drew attention to the problem of selling the products obtained from already harvested grapes. According to him, it is also necessary to consider the possibility of encouraging the aging of alcohol, which can help to increase the value of the product and provide additional time to find new export markets.

Papoyan, in his turn, noted that the government also supports exports, and the Eurasian Economic Union market continues to be important for the sale of Armenian products.