6 Applications Received for Government Support Program for the Construction of 14 Necessary Slaughterhouses, 5 Approved

During the past month, 6 applications have been received for the Government's support program aimed at the construction of 14 necessary slaughterhouses, out of which 5 have been approved. Gevorg Ghazaryan, head of the Food Security and Agribusiness Development Department at the Ministry of Economy, stated this in an interview with Tert.am.

According to him, 2 of the 6 applications were for the construction of slaughterhouses in the same area, which is why only 1 application was approved. The slaughterhouses that will be constructed under the approved 5 applications will be mobile.

“This is a continuous process. In order to apply for the program, they need to find a supplier from whom they will purchase. The process is not one that can happen very quickly all at once. I believe that the process will proceed normally,” said Gevorg Ghazaryan.

It should be noted that since July 1, the government's decision on the mandatory organization of slaughterhouse slaughter has come into force throughout the republic. In all places, both in retail networks and in public catering points, only meat of slaughterhouse origin must be present.

The previously set deadline for the mandatory organization of slaughterhouse slaughter was postponed at the beginning of the year due to protests. The government delayed the implementation of the mandatory condition by 6 months, as there were not enough slaughterhouses in the republic, and the executive proposed to those interested to construct slaughterhouses.

Economy Minister Tigran Khachatryan announced during the government's meeting on July 2 that another 14 points would be required to ensure reasonable access of 30 km from the beneficiary communities. If the necessary 14 slaughterhouses are constructed, the executive's support program will allocate a grant of 15% of the 20% advance payment required for leasing, but not more than 4.8 million drams, for the construction of a slaughterhouse in any of the 14 communities.

The map of the required 14 slaughterhouses is as follows: 3 in Syunik, 1 in Gegharkunik, 2 in Ararat, 4 in Shirak, 2 in Lori, and 2 in Aragatsotn.

“We have mapped out how the slaughterhouses should be located in the communities so that the distance from each beneficiary community remains within reasonable limits. As such a criterion, we chose a distance of about 30 km. Currently, there are 23 slaughterhouses in operation, providing services and 36 more are in various stages of construction and will soon be put into operation. In addition to these 59 in total, 14 more points will be needed, and after the availability of slaughterhouses, we can say that there are operational slaughterhouses within no more than 30 km from all communities,” Tigran Khachatryan stated.

In an interview with Tert.am, the head of the Food Security and Agribusiness Development Department noted that there are currently 59 operational slaughterhouses providing services, and another 84 slaughterhouses are at various stages of construction.

“Aside from the mobile modular slaughterhouse program (the program for necessary slaughterhouses in 14 communities – Tert.am), we have other programs as well. For example, the leasing support program, through which they can again acquire equipment. We have a loan program of 3-15 million, from which they could also benefit for the construction of slaughterhouses and procurement of equipment. At this moment, I cannot definitively say how many of the 84 slaughterhouses under construction have benefited from our programs, but I think that most of them will have,” said Gevorg Ghazaryan.