The Armenian government has approved a decision to provide budget guarantees for grape procurement in 2026 and to improve the terms of an existing support program. According to the government press service, the move concerns the program that subsidizes interest rates on loans issued for the purchase of agricultural raw materials.
Under the changes, if a business seeking a loan for grape procurement lacks sufficient collateral, the government will be able to provide a budget guarantee of up to 50% from September 15 to December 30, 2026. The amount of the guarantee, however, may not exceed the value of products exported during the previous year.
The government has also introduced relief for loans issued in 2024 and 2025. By mutual agreement between participating financial institutions and beneficiaries, from September 15 to December 30, 2026, borrowers may receive an additional grace period of up to six months for principal repayments, and loan maturities may also be extended by up to six months. Each borrower, however, may use this option only for loans issued either in 2024 or in 2025.
The decision also states that if grace periods and repayment schedules for 2024 or 2025 loans are extended, the validity period of budget guarantees previously issued under those loans will not be extended.
According to the government, the mechanism will allow grape-processing businesses to attract additional credit resources even when collateral is insufficient. It is expected to help ensure this year’s procurement campaign proceeds smoothly while also easing debt-servicing pressure.
The rationale says similar budget guarantees were used in 2021-2022 to address problems in grape and fruit-and-vegetable procurement, and in 2023-2025 for grape procurement. Guarantees issued before 2023 were repaid on schedule, while repayments on guarantees issued in 2023, 2024 and 2025 will be completed during 2027 and in January-March 2028.
According to the data provided, in 2023 budget guarantees totaling about 2.7 billion drams were issued to 3 grape-procuring companies, with a repayment term of 3 years and 9 months. In 2024, 4 companies received about 3.1 billion drams in guarantees with a repayment term of 2 years and 3 months, while in 2025 around 4.6 billion drams were provided to 6 companies for the same 2 years and 3 months.
In a separate undisclosed decision, the government also approved the procedure for granting a budget guarantee covering up to 50% of the insufficient collateral portion when additional borrowing is raised for grape procurement.
Commenting on the decision, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the government continues to work consistently on diversifying export markets. He also stressed that tourism should be taken into account when discussing exports, especially for seasonal agricultural produce, because tourists buy the same fruits and vegetables in Armenia. The prime minister added that this year’s tourist inflows have helped keep the situation manageable and that, in a peaceful environment, there are no obstacles to fully using Armenia’s tourism potential.
