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On January 23, on the initiative of the President of the RA National Assembly Ara Babloyan the RA NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs organized parliamentary hearings on the theme The Causes of the Price Rise of Certain Goods and Possibilities of Mitigating the Inflation, where the RA NA deputies, representatives of the state bodies, NGOs and other concerned organizations and media, and the scientists took part.

In his opening remarks the RA NA President Ara Babloyan, welcoming the participants of the hearings, has documented that there are concerns relating to the price rise of certain goods in the public and political circles which cannot leave indifferent the National Assembly.

“I am sure that these hearings will be effective. At the same time I expect that the speakers will present the facts relating to the price rise of different goods, the recommendations directed to the problem settlement substantiation which will be useful and in terms of finding effective solutions of the problem and giving objective information to the public,” the RA NA President noted.

In the word of the Chair of the RA NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Khosrov Harutyunyan, the hearings are specific as they are not only connected with the price rise of necessity goods, the mitigation of the possible social consequences, but also the discussion of one of the key themes of the free market economy. To his conviction, such format will be useful for making decisions in the professional, public and political circles.

The President of the RA National Statistical Service Stepan Mnatsakanyan presented the statistical data and the implemented observations. The Chairman of the RA Central Bank Artur Javadyan has noted that the price rise expectations increase due to unsubstantiated speculations being regularly circulated in the press by some experts and public figures. The RA Deputy Chairman of the State Revenue Committee adjunct to RA Government Vakhtang Mirumyan, the RA Deputy Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies Arman Khachatryan and Chair of the RA State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC) Artak Shaboyan presented their viewpoints on the matter under discussion.

The RA Minister of Agriculture Ignati Arakelyan touched upon the price formation in the sphere of agriculture and the steps taken by the government aimed at mitigating the price rise.

The participants of the hearings addressed their questions to the key speakers which related to the price formation and price fall on certain goods, the comparisons between the consumer's baskets of our and neighbouring countries, the steps being taken by the state in the context of mitigating the price rise, the possibilities of the increase of the minimal salaries, allowances, pensions, the influence of the excise tax on the price rise of the agricultural farms, production and diesel fuel, the investment policy and other problems.

In their speeches the RA NA deputies Nikol Pashinyan, Sergey Bagratyan, Gevorg Gorgisyan, Vahe Enfiajyan, Vahram Baghdasaryan and those responsible for the sphere touched upon the economic bases of price formation, its social consequences, the ways of its overcoming, the policy pursued by the CB, the principles of the consumer’s basket formation, the possible cases of the artificial price rise and its prevention.

The RA NA Deputy Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov presented the events being designed for the mitigation of the price rise: subsidization of the agricultural farms, development of the inner production and the use of the alternative means.

The RA Minister of Finance Vardan Aramyan has noted that the existing price rise is comparative with the general economic developments.

The RA NA Speaker Ara Babloyan delivered a speech. See the complete speech here.

In the final speech the Chair of the RA NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Khosrov Harutyunyan considered the discussions successful and noted that there was constructive and professionally substantiated dialogue. He touched upon the voiced interpellations and documented that they were reflecting the existing problems which allowed understanding the real reasons of the price rise.