Armenia will import Lake Van’s prized pearl mullet fish in what a Turkish businessman hopes will be the first stage toward the eventual opening of the border, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“The sooner we develop the bilateral trade the sooner we can get the borders opened,” Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry board member Ayhan Fidan said.

The fish, however, will be transported to Armenia via Georgia because of the closed border, thus affecting the price because exporters will need to pay customs tax twice.

“We would like our export to be consumed by a larger section of the society, however, due to this formality about the custom tariff it seems that the sales price of the fish in Armenia will be rather high,” he said.

Nonetheless, in addition to the pearl mullet, Turkey will also export oranges to its neighbor, Fidan said, adding that the decision was taken six months ago.