On July 2, the government held a meeting where it was decided to exempt the company “Ijevan Bacon” from customs duties amounting to 14 million drams. The main shareholder of the company is Frunze Ghazaryan, a friend of Prime Minister Pashinyan.
The draft decision was prepared by the Ministry of Economy. According to the justification for the decision, the company plans to establish a pig farming complex in the village of Mayisyan in the Armavir region. As part of this project, the company is importing a grain storage system (silo) and equipment from Georgia (country of origin is Turkey), valued at 140 million drams, with a customs duty of 10% — 14 million drams.
The silo is intended for storing raw materials (grain) used for producing compound feed for pigs. This involves two sets weighing 93 tons and with a volume of 3260 m³.
For the construction of the pig farming complex, according to the government’s justification, “Ijevan Bacon” LLC plans to invest 2.1 billion drams. This amount will be spent on construction work, land acquisition, and the purchase of essential equipment for the pig farming complex.
Currently, the company has 7 employees with an average monthly salary of 240,000 drams. Within the framework of the investment project, it is planned to increase the number of jobs to 20 by 2027, with an average monthly salary of 340,000 drams.
It was also noted that the silo and equipment are not imported from EAEU member countries, as they do not meet the technical requirements of the company. According to the justification, the exemption from customs duties will serve as a significant incentive for the implementation of new investment projects and, as a result, for the creation of new jobs, attracting investments, and stimulating local production and exports.
The Pashinyan government has also previously supported “Ijevan Bacon”
This is not the first time the government has supported “Ijevan Bacon” LLC. In July 2025, the government made a decision to approve the investment proposal of this company to establish a pig farm and agreed that the Armavir community, which includes the village of Mayisyan, would sell two plots of land to the company without auction and provide another for 25 years of lease without competition.
Thus, “Ijevan Bacon” was granted the right to purchase community land plots of 0.6 ha and 10 ha in Mayisyan without competition, paying 7 million and 575 thousand drams, respectively.
As previously mentioned, the discussion of the decision to support “Ijevan Bacon” was not smooth in the government’s corridors, but the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, which prepared the project, countered all objections.
According to the investment project presented by “Ijevan Bacon”, it is planned to breed pigs with a live weight of 110 kg.
