Since Feb 2014 Armenia has imported oil products mostly from Russia, Chairman of the State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition of Armenia Artak Shaboyan said on Monday.
He said that oil product prices began dropping in summer, which has had an impact on Armenia's market.
Shaboyan told ArmInfo that oil products are imported by City Petrol Group and Flash. "Last year they imported oil products from Bulgaria and Romania but today it is better for them to import them from Russia," Shaboyan said.
He does not think that this market is monopolized. "Oil products are a strategic resource and their supplies are monopolized everywhere in the world," Shaboyan said.
In Jan-Sept 2014 Armenia imported 241,000 tons of oil products against 236,500 tons in Jan-Sept 2013. In terms of money, the imports made up $245mln. Demand for oil products in Armenia is dropping as more and more car owners are beginning to use gas.
In Jan-Sept 2014 oil product imports from Russia grew by from 75,884 tons to 164,404 tons, from Iran grew from 3,528 tons to 7,889 tons. Imports from Bulgaria dropped from 34,991 tons to 2,847 tons, from Romania from 68,824 tons to 20,688 tons.