Armenian apricots have been exported to France in large quantities for the first time. Areg Baghdasaryan, founder of the “Complex International” company operating in France, said that in the past apricots were also brought from Armenia, but by air, that is, only a hundred or a few hundred kilograms.
Baghdasaryan’s company has imported one truckload of about 20 tons of goods from Armenia. In the coming years, he wishes to bring dozens of truckloads from Armenia during the apricot season.
Apricots spoil quickly, and the journey to France takes about 10 days. But Areg and his partners have applied a well-known technique that extends the life of apricots to 20-25 days. For export, they took apricots that are still almost unripe but beginning to turn yellow. In this way, the apricots remain usable for 10 days for picking and transporting, and another 10-12 days during sale.
There was no need to wait any longer, as the entire shipment was consumed within a few days — most of it in Armenian shops in the Armenian-populated suburbs of Paris (Issy-les-Moulineaux, Clamart, Alfortville), and a small part in agricultural markets. And it is in those markets that Areg plans to increase sales.
“We plan to work with large commercial chains such as Leclerc or Carrefour. However, meeting the volumes they demand is not realistic at present. At this moment, Armenian shops and agricultural markets are a major sales channel for us,” emphasized Areg Baghdasaryan.
Let us add that the sale of the imported goods was successfully organized not only in Armenian shops, but also in Greek and Russian ones.
Part of the brought fruit was also donated to the Armenian Apostolic Church, which was distributed to the faithful, and the funds raised will be allocated to the renovation of the Saint John the Baptist Cathedral Church in Paris.
It is also noted that Armenian apricots were sold this time at a relatively high price, but later, when volumes increase, it will be possible to sell them between 5 and 7 euros. It will be slightly more expensive than Spanish or some French varieties, but one should not forget the quality of the taste either.
It is worth noting that on the boxes of Armenian apricots imported into France, “The World’s Best Apricots” is written, and next to it, the historical Latin name of the apricot — “Prunus armeniaca” (“Armenian plum”).
News from Sputnik Armenia.
