YEREVAN, JANUARY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. A consultation on problems and the development opportunities of the processing sector of food industry was conducted by the RA prime minister Tigran Sragsyan on January 21. Heads of several companies in Armenia's agricultural processing sector, representatives of interested ministries and departments took part in the discussion. The prime minister said that the studies show there is quite serious potential in the sector so it is possible to ensure its normal development in 2009 and years to come in case of efficient joint efforts of the state and private sector. With the aim of making good progress in food industry, he attached special importance to clarification of the sector's priority directions and possible state assistance by holding joint discussions. The prime minister announced that the government has already made some calculations to find out how much the capacities of the operating enterprises can be increased in the sector - by commodities they produce. However, according to him, receiving direct information about the problems and proposals for development from the sector's representatives will make future decisions more realistic. The RA minister of agriculture Aramais Grigorian presented the situation in the sector and its development opportunities. The discussion participants shared the opinion that the importers currently have greater opportunities in food industry than domestic producers (due to many factors) which is not conducive to expansion of the production. After discussing all the problems and the proposals made by representatives of the ministry of agriculture and the private sector, the prime minister instructed the ministries of economy and agriculture and the RA State Revenue Committee to summarize them and submit a program of measures within two days. According to the RA Government Information and PR Department, the prime minister conducted a consultation on problems of light industry the day before.

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