– When was your company established and what does the word “Dili” mean?
– The name is connected with Dilijan, which is the symbol of the company. We have established an agro-industrial complex, which must be occupied with breeding cows and goats and production of milk and dairy products. We have started the project from zero. We have done our best to provide production from the first till the final states of functioning. We do everything on our own to ensure we don’t depend on anyone else.
– Don’t you really depend on anyone?
– It’s only the food (corn and grain), which we export from Ukraine for animals.
– What do you mainly produce?
– Our main product is dairy; mainly mozzarella cheese, used for pizzas and salads. Soon we will be producing pure natural milk specially for children. We also produce milk cream and Armenian cheese.
– How did you start your business?
– With the support of the Germans we have done a lot of research in Armenia. First we chose Dilijan because the climatic conditions of the region resemble the Alpine climate. Besides that the altitude and the air are very useful for the natural breeding of the cattle. Then we started to think how to reach our goal. We have chosen the valley where we built farms corresponding to the German technologies and standards. We have started to build our farms from the zero. We have imported the technologies and the cows from Germany and the devices used for milking are of Italian production. Shortly said, besides the walls and the animal food everything else is brought from abroad. We receive high quality milk because we don’t have any issue of transportation. Thus the milk maintains its usefulness.
– Why did you decide to import the cows from abroad? Do we not have cows here?
– I think there is bad genealogy of cows in Armenia. In order to have good and quality product and use we need good genealogy for the cattle. That’s why we decided to invest even more.
– Were you not afraid that such a great investment may not justify your efforts and goals?
– Everybody asks me this question, however I never thought about it. We have made great investments but believe me I wanted to produce products, which can have good quality. It’s not only the financial aspect. We didn’t even count when we are going to have our money back. Our main goal is to how provide good quality.
– How long have you been producing?
– Six months.
– Perhaps you felt the competition pressure at that time.
– There was no problem with competition at all. We mainly produce products, which are not produced by someone else in Armenia. It means we produce products, which are mainly imported to Armenia. I am not going to compete with the local producers. There are very good dairy procurers in Armenia, who have their places in the market. In Armenia 40% of dairy products are imported. That’s great percentage. I am struggling to reduce this index.
– Don’t you think that the importers are also competitors?
– No. because the price of the imported dairy is several times more than the locally produced one. The Italian and German experts believe that the quality of our products is several times higher than the imported stuff.
– What exactly are you doing to prove this quality?
– We don’t need to prove it. The market demand gradually grows. Our main problem is that we don’t have much production going on. We will reach the peak of our production in two years. This is a technology. The number of cows will be doubled. In agriculture it’s necessary to invest for five years in order to make the technology work.
– Is it possible to find the product of your company in all local stores?
– Not in all stores because we don’t have much production yet. Otherwise we’d sell more.
– Do you think about exporting?
– I think we will start to export in six months or a year because we need certificates as the foreign countries demand. Now we are going to receive an ISO certificate, which will enable us to export our products.
– Will the AMD revaluation not hinder your product exportation?
– If we start to think about obstacles and get shaky about them it means we must quit our business. The difficulties must not be flagged. The business works this way worldwide. Besides that those difficulties must not be politicized. When you start your business from zero many questions rise. The important thing is the desire.
– What issues have you faced when you started your business?
– Yes. There were many problems. For example, I came to Armenia and I didn’t know anything about the manners of the country. The most difficult thing for me was to teach people how to work. The greatest problem of Armenia is the lack of specialists. We speak about unemployment but believe me many people just don’t wish to work.
– What kind of specialists did you need?
– Cow breeder, land growing, tractor driver, managers, etc. Management is the most difficult thing. I know that our young people graduate from universities and are not able to find jobs.
– How long have you been in Armenia?
– I was born in Armenia. I have participated in many ways in Armenia’s life. But I have doing business for only two years now. I am sure that many people will want to come back to their fatherland to do business. There are afraid though. When the person does a good business abroad he is afraid to come back to start from zero. I think that the Diaspora, instead of showing help to our country, could just start businesses here and open workplaces. As a result both them and the locals would benefit.
– Why have you chosen this sector?
– I didn’t know anything about this sector at all. Two years ago I hired specialists – Ukrainian doctor-professors, who taught me this business. I wanted to do something natural.
– What’s your profession?
– Businessman.
– Perhaps your profession helped you to have success?
– I think that if the person is able to create something and make money he may be called a businessman and there is no need to deepen in the profession.