YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The products of the newly-opened Dilijan beer factory will be sold both in the domestic and foreign markets. The factory has provided nearly 90 jobs for the residents of Tavush province, reports Armenpress.

During the beer season it is expected to reach the number of workers up to 150. At the moment the average salary is 100.000 drams, former MP Hakob Hakobyan, co-owner of the factory told reporters on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the factory on November 21.

“The construction works of the factory launched four years ago, today it is its official opening ceremony. At the moment we are producing two types of beer – “Dilijan” and “Dilijan 1”. In terms of taste the one is similar to the German beer, and the other to the Czech beer”, he said, adding that the competitive advantage of their beer is the Dilijan water, people and nature.

The company started operating in late August of this year, so far 430.000 bottles of beer have been released, the total cost 130 million drams.

Hakob Hakobyan said the product is sold in Armenia, they are competing not with the local production, but with the imported beer. “We also plan to export the products to Russia, Georgia and European countries”, he said. In addition, there are also plans to attract the Iranian market with non-alcoholic beer production. “If we are able to enter that market, we need to carry out quite a thorough work because it’s a big market”, he said.

As for the beer quality, head of the factory bottling production unit Tigran Stepanyan said the product is being checked and undergoes a respective laboratory testing. He said they are going to work also in winter, if not with the whole capacity, then partially. “Armenians do not drink beer in winter, but if we export, we will work at full speed in winter”, Stepanyan said.

The total cost of the Dilijan beer factory investment program comprised nearly 2.5 billion drams, 1 billion of which for the buildings, and 1.5 billion for the equipment. The Armenian government assisted the factory by extending the VAT payment for some of the imported equipment for three years.