Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

The ban on the transportation of wheat to Armenia by land through the territory of Georgia will come into force on September 15, and this can seriously stir up the masses in Armenia.

Presently, the only way connecting Armenian importers with Russia, from where wheat is purchased, is the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border. The overload of the checkpoint created big problems for the tourism sector of Georgia this summer.

“There were very long queues at customs checkpoints. Tourists could not enter Georgia, and hundreds of cars were going back. This problem was particularly evident at the Upper Lars checkpoint,” Georgian Finance Minister Ivane Matchavariani has previously noted.

Being unable to somehow influence the decision of the Georgian government, the Armenian authorities tried to cover up the issue as if nothing serious had happened for Armenia.

However, the problem has not gone away and it continues to seriously disturb the Armenian carriers. The country’s public, in turn, will be disturbed in a couple of days, when, because of the rise in the price of transit, the price of bread will go up in Armenia.

Representative of one of the carriers has told Armenian media that the problem of the ban on wheat import remains unresolved.

“Truckers have received regular notifications from the Georgian side that on the night of September 15, trucks loaded with wheat will no longer be able to cross the border. No one has solved anything,” he said.

The interlocutor added that even if the Armenian government ensures that the railway tariffs for transportation are reduced, 1 ton of wheat will rise in price by $46-52, which, of course, will affect the price of bread in Armenia.

He reminded that after the ‘velvet revolution’ this spring, when the new government announced the elimination of monopolies, many Armenians bought trucks to import wheat into the country. Now they do not know how to repay loans taken to buy the trucks.

“If this issue is not resolved, they will organize a protest on September 15, trucks will block the roads,” the interlocutor stressed.

Thus, the Armenian government would better solve the problem as soon as possible, because the public sentiment in the country is largely against what the new authorities currently do. Another problem for the population of Armenia can ultimately exhaust their patience.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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