In a recent interview Armenia’s Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan explained why there are no McDonald's restaurants in Armenia.
"Absence of McDonald's restaurants in Armenia is an indication that economic competition in the country is not quite normal because in other countries McDonald's competes with local chains forcing the latter to become more productive. We have neither McDonald's nor Starbucks," said Kerobyan in an interview with VAN radio.
He noted that in comparison with the U.S., Armenia's productivity in the area of public catering is 10 times lower.
Asked if it is Armenia’s problem or McDonald's, Kerobyan said it does not matter. "Armenia has all the conditions, but maybe McDonald's doesn't think our market is that big or there are other reasons?" the minister said, inviting these chains to come to the Armenian market.
Kerobyan also pointed out that over the past 25-30 years, Armenia's economy has been small and closed, with a high level of protectionism, and "that's why multinational companies have not come here, considering our market uninteresting.
"We have again projected for 2023 a 7 percent GDP growth, as we did for this year, and we are going to achieve this goal. There are many programs that will help achieve this goal, but there are also many risks," the minister said.
The biggest risks, according to the minister is the geopolitical situation. The second is the shortage of workers.
‘According to our estimates, there are 100 thousand vacant jobs in Armenia, mainly in construction, industry, agriculture and services. This is due to several factors, including the low mobility of the population and low salaries due to low productivity of companies," he said.
The minister cited problems with the investment environment as the third risk. "So far we have not been very good at absorbing investments, investment projects in the country move slowly because of bureaucracy. Now we are dealing with this, and I hope we will find a way to speed up investment projects," said Kerobyan.
Earlier, the ministry projected that Armenian GDP growth in 2022 will amount to 14%. Armenia's GDP grew by 14.8% year-on-year in the third quarter of the current year, according to the National Statistical Committee (NSC).
Armenian government’s initial growth projection for this year was 7%, while inflation was set at 4% (±1.5%), ARKA reports.
