Filling the budget with vodka sales
Vodka prices are low and consumption is high. This is one way of filling the budget," Chairman of the RA Union of Wine-Makers Avag Harutyunyan told "A1+", underlining that vodka consumption is increasing in Armenia and it is due to a bad life.
Compared to 2009, the use of strong foreign alcoholic drinks increased by 20 percent and the consumption of local vodka increased by 12 percent in 2010.
In 2010, Armenians consumed only 1.6 liters of wine and 8.3 liters of vodka per person.
According to the Chairman of the RA Union of Wine-Makers, wine is also a reflection of the good life and if there is more wine consumption, it is considered that people are living a good life.
Our surveys also showed that citizens of Armenia prefer strong alcoholic drinks, particularly vodka.
"They drink because of their problems and the bad life they're living," says 50-year old Edgar Simonyan who also prefers vodka because it helps him forget his social issues.
Chairman of the RA Union of Wine-Makers Avag Harutyunyan says such an amount of vodka consumption is troubling, but he also views it in the social and political subtext and brings the example of Russia, which has been making pricing reforms in the vodka market when solving a political issue since 1490.
The Chairman of the RA Union of Wine-Makers says the Armenian government is not taking tangible steps toward reducing the consumption of vodka because it may hurt some big businessmen.
