PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2012

EDITOUR REPORTS 16 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 06/12 www.petpla.net The landlocked state of Armenia is of interest not only from a political but also from a geographic angle. The country gained its independence with the collapse of the USSR in 1991. It has a total area of around 30,000m² and a population of 3.26 million inhabitants. This mountainous country, nestling in the heart of the Small Caucasus and bordering on Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Iran to the south-west, the Inde- pendent Republic of Nakhchivan in the south and Turkey in the west, was the first country in the world to introduce Christianity as its state religion back in the year 301. Bear- ing in mind this traditional anchorage, it is scarcely surpris- ing that today around 94% of the Armenian population is Christian. Two key factors play a role in the Armenian economy. The first is the continuing dispute with Turkey relating to recognition of the Armenian genocide during the First Market opportunities in the wake of major upheaval World War. The second is the dispute with Azerbaijan over the post-1994 occupation of the Bergkarabach region in the south-east of Armenia which, in the opinion of the United Nations and the Council of Europe, is part of Azerbaijan. Thus, Armenia’s importing and exporting activities inevita- bly focus on Georgia (situated in the north) as well as, in individual cases, Russia and to an extent on new business with Iran. Business dealings with Turkey or even Azerbaijan are practically impossible. A situation is emerging where Armenia is becoming to a major extent self-sufficient in the manufacture of products and concentrates a great deal on its own market. The beverage market The Armenian beverages market is confined within its own borders due to political and geographical peculiarities. Since the mid-90s when PET bottles became available for Armenia Nuremberg Ljubljana Saedinenie Istanbul Yerevan Baku Beograd Novi Sad Subotica Cegled Dulo Selo Mirna Peˇc Radenci Gorica Sveto jansk Plovdiv Gaziantep Ingöl Ploiesti Ankara