Residents of a village in Armenia blocked an interstate highway due to problems with tomato sales.

ArmInfo. Residents of the Verin Dvin community in Armenia's Ararat region blocked the Yerevan-Ashtarak highway due to problems selling tomatoes after state subsidies were discontinued.

Strong Armenia faction MP Harutyun Mnatsakanyan, who arrived at the scene, pointed out in a conversation with journalists that these same tomatoes are selling for 550 drams in supermarkets, while local producers can't even sell their produce for 80-100 drams. "Meanwhile, they have to pay workers over 1,000 drams for just an hour of picking vegetables. And they spend 20,000 drams on transporting the harvest. After that, residents deliver the tomatoes to the market in Ovtashat, but they don't sell," Mnatsakanyan said. He said he arrived at the scene to understand the situation and what steps could be taken. One of the protesters showed off boxes of tomatoes loaded into his car. He said he hasn't been able to sell his harvest for three days.

It's worth noting that this isn't the first time residents have blocked the road. A similar protest took place back in July of this year.

At that time, Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan assured that there would be no further problems purchasing tomatoes. On July 31, he recalled the temporary restrictions imposed by the Armenian government on the import of tomatoes and tomato paste and assured that the state would assist local tomato producers in organizing exports.

As a reminder, Russia introduced gradual restrictions on the import of Armenian agricultural products in April. The official reasons cited were sanitary and phytosanitary violations and a lack of safety oversight by authorized Armenian agencies. The real reason for the restrictions, however, is the Armenian leadership's overt anti-Russian moves against the backdrop of Yerevan's policy of rapprochement with the European Union. These "sanctions" have already led to a reduction in trade turnover: in the first five months of 2026, mutual trade volumes between Armenia and Russia fell by 21.5% compared to the same period last year. Difficulties have arisen in agricultural exports: due to the blockage of supplies during the summer peak season, exports of Armenian fruits, vegetables, and flowers showed a sharp drop of 74.5%. According to experts, financial losses to businesses amount to tens of millions of dollars, threatening the mass bankruptcy of hundreds of greenhouses and farms.