The assurances of the Armenian authorities about the sale of apricots in France raised questions about the volumes of supplies.

The Embassy of Armenia in France reported the start of apricot supplies to five stores in Paris and the suburbs. The volumes of supplies are incomparable to what was sold on the Russian market; the authorities are trying to hide the real situation with rosy reports, expressed the opinion of a journalist.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the Rosselkhoznadzor introduced temporary restrictions on the import of flowers from Armenia starting May 22, 2026, and from May 30, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, greens, and strawberries. In addition, the import of all batches of Armenian mineral water "Jermuk" and several cognacs and wines, as well as fish, was halted. From June 2, Rosselkhoznadzor extended the ban to fresh grapes and stone fruits, including cherries and sweet cherries, and from June 3 - to potatoes, eggplants, as well as fruits of seed crops and dried fruits. Under the guise of Iranian, cut flowers from Armenia were imported into Russia, Rosselkhoznadzor stated on July 17, asking the Iranian Plant Protection Organization to suspend the certification of flowers for export to Russia. The agency also found violations at dairy plants in Armenia, instructing to ensure control over the prevention of dairy product imports starting July 27.

The authorities reported successful promotion of Armenian products abroad

Armenian apricots have gone on sale in France. The Embassy of Armenia in France published a list of five grocery stores where the fruits can be purchased. One of them is located directly in Paris, while the others are in cities of the Île-de-France region: Meudon, Poissy, Le Plessis-Robinson, and Issy-les-Moulineaux, writes Armenia Today.

Prior to this, the media reported that a batch of apricots sent to Spain had spoiled.

From June 1 to July 19 of this year, 7,654 tons of apricots were exported from Armenia — more than 380 trucks, reported the Minister of Economy of the RA Gevorg Papoyan on his Facebook page.

“The geography of exports is very wide, but we do not export to Spain, and we also have no exports to Portugal, so I suggest the opposition press spoil the "exported" apricot to Portugal today,” Papoyan said.

According to the Ministry of Economy, in June, against the backdrop of Russia's bans on the import of Armenian products, more than 780 tons of peppers, 200 tons of tomatoes, 109 tons of strawberries, 3,000 tons of apricots, 1,400 tons of cherries, 1.5 million liters of mineral water, and 230,000 liters of wine were exported from Armenia. Armenia also exported fruits to 15 countries, flowers to 25, and vegetables to eight countries.

Armenia will send another 60 tons of apricots to Europe and will also export fresh flowers to Poland for the first time, reported Polish entrepreneur Artur Lewandowski. After the new shipment, the total volume of Armenian apricots exported under the project will exceed 100 tons — about 5% of the total apricot exports from Armenia this season.

According to Lewandowski, the first batch of flowers will be one of the largest shipments of Armenian floral products to the European market, reports Jam News.

Reports of successes in foreign markets raised questions

The government is trying to deceive the people today, said the editor-in-chief of Alpha News Tigran Kocharyan, commenting on the collapse of the Armenian market caused by tensions in relations with Russia.

Why does Europe need Armenian cheese when there is French, Italian, or Swiss? What competitiveness can Armenian fish have when there is Norwegian fish on the EU market?

“Cheeses were mainly exported from Armenia to Russia. But why does Europe need Armenian cheese when there is French, Italian, or Swiss? Or, for example, the authorities claimed that Armenia would export fish to Europe. What competitiveness can Armenian fish have when there is Norwegian fish on the EU market, which European consumers are used to? In other words, the government is trying to deceive the people in parts, using the same logic and propaganda as during the 44-day war. This information line has also been joined by the RA Embassy in France, which stated that Armenian apricots are sold in Parisian stores. But everyone understands that these are not large supermarkets, and at best, 10–20 kilograms of apricots are sold there,” Yerevan Today quoted him as saying.

In his opinion, the authorities will be able to hide the catastrophic situation in the economy for some time, but sooner or later, reality will become evident.

“The Russian Federation has so far imposed restrictions only on certain types of products. But if it completely halts trade, serious problems will arise not only for producers but for all of us,” emphasized Tigran Kocharyan.

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