Import of Pigs to Armenia Suspended as of January 1
During a press conference held on January 13, Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan announced that temporary restrictions have been imposed on the import of pigs to Armenia starting from January 1. The main purpose of this decision is to develop local pig farming, which, according to the minister, is already on the verge of extinction.
The restrictions will be in place for 6 months. Considering the increasing number of imported live pigs, it was decided to limit the number of imported pigs to a maximum of 25,000 heads. Imports mainly come from the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. In Armenia, the average daily consumption of pork by the population is 82 tons, of which 40-42 tons of fresh and frozen pork are entirely supplied by local production. Approximately 80 large and medium-sized specialized entities are engaged in pig farming in the Republic of Armenia, accounting for more than 70% of the pigs bred in the country.
Temporary export bans have also been established for wheat, barley, corn, sunflower seeds, buckwheat, catalysts, cement, and other goods.
These measures are aimed at ensuring self-sufficiency in some cases and addressing specific issues in others. For instance, in the case of catalysts, there were widespread thefts. I sent an inquiry to the police, and it turned out that this year catalyst thefts have decreased 12 times. In other words, we banned the import of catalysts, and thefts decreased 12 times.