Armenian opposition leader warns of closing export markets

Bright Armenia Party leader and prime ministerial candidate Edmon Marukyan warned on Tuesday that Armenia’s agricultural sector is facing a crisis as traditional export markets in Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) begin to shut their doors amid political tensions.

Marukyan noted that nearly 80 percent of Armenia’s farm produce is exported to Russia and other EAEU states, but those markets are increasingly inaccessible. “These markets have started to close for us,” he said during a campaign stop at greenhouse enterprises, stressing that farmers who have taken on heavy loans now risk losing their harvests.

He accused the government of failing to secure alternative trade routes, despite claims of working to expand access to European Union markets. "Farmers, burdened by debt, have cultivated their crops only to find that when it comes time to sell, their harvests are now at risk,” Marukyan said. “What has the government done to ensure they can reach other markets? Nothing.”

The opposition leader also pointed to mounting logistical challenges, including bottlenecks at the Lars checkpoint on the Georgian-Russian border and difficulties in Georgia itself. “We have reached a point where problems at Lars and in Georgia remain unresolved, and no one is addressing them,” he added.