Armenian farmers briefly block highway over tomato sales crisis

Farmers in Armenia briefly blocked the Yerevan–Yeraskh highway in protest over difficulties selling their tomato harvest.

Protesters parked their vehicles across the road and refused to clear the route despite police demands, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

"Don't interfere with us. Until someone from the leadership comes, we will not reopen the road," the protesters said.

The farmers accused Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan of failing to deliver on promises to resolve problems affecting both tomato and cucumber producers.

"He promised to solve the issue with both tomatoes and cucumbers, but nothing has been done. Neither of the two factories is accepting our produce, so what are we supposed to do?" they asked.

The demonstrators agreed to reopen the highway after about 15 minutes.

Armenian agricultural producers have faced marketing difficulties since Russia imposed restrictions on imports of plant-based products, with almost all such goods except canned products affected by the ban.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov