YERЕVAN, July 19. /ARKA/. If Armenian government bans the import of 50 varieties of Turkish commodities, imports from Turkey may shrink 15-20 percent, Vazgen Safaryan, the head of the Union of Domestic Commodity Producers, told journalists on Monday.



In recent days, Artsvik Minasyan, Armenian economy minister, unveiled the government’s intention to put new requirements to the quality of Turkish commodities imported into Armenia.



Today Armenia imports from Turkey some 700 varieties of goods, of which 50 names have been chosen initially. There are not raw materials or goods of social necessity.



“We import commodities worth $130-150 million, on average, from Turkey every year, and in some years the amount reached $200 million,” Safaryan said. “Along with that, our exports total only $1.5-1.8 million.”



Safaryan said that knitted fabric, washing powders and other chemical products will be among the banned imports.



The economic entities which imported these products should be attracted to appropriate local industries to prevent vacuum at market and not to leave business people without profits, he said.



In his opinion, the government has created maximally beneficial conditions for producing goods inside the country.



“Time has come to mobilize the economic policy and use domestic resources more effectively,” he said.



According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia-Turkey trade turnover amounted to about $50 million in Jan-May 2016 showing a 1% year-on-year decline. --0----





12:29 19.07.2016