Sergey Stepanian, chairman of the Union of Armenian Poultry Farmers, has complained of unequal conditions set for importers of chicken meat and local producers, reports ARKA.

Speaking at a news conference, he said he knows that imported chicken meat goes through customs clearing at a price of 350 Drams per kilo, which he said creates unequal conditions for local producers.

He said: "Local producers expect a five to six per cent profit from their sales while importers' profits reach 80 per cent for each kilo of chicken meat."

He explained that importers are required only to present a document that the imported meat does not pose danger to human health, while all other mandatory standard requirements are ignored by customs officers.

He said the Union of Poultry Farmers is going to ask the government to remove this inequality.

Mr Stepanian added: "The government has developed a programme for revising national standards this year and after these reforms are enforced we expect that we shall have equal rights."

According to ARKA, Melisa Hakobian, chairwoman of the National Assembly of Consumers, expressed her concerns over the import of genetically modified products to Armenia, saying their negative impact will come to surface in several years.