Armenian meat plant plans unveiled
Plans have been drawn up in Armenia for a new hi-tech meat processing plant, the hides and skins from which will be reserved for local footwear producers.
Meruzhan Hakopian from the trade and economic development ministry said that aside from its primary purpose of producing high quality meat, the new facility would reduce the dependence of the domestic footwear sector on imported raw materials. To be located in the capital of Yerevan, the facility will incorporate automated fleshing equipment to ensure consistent standards of hide quality.
Armenia’s two main footwear producers are Yerevan Lux and Gyumri Tavros. Together, the businesses accounted for the bulk of the country’s output of 300,000 pairs in 2001, even though they operated at only around 5% to 7% capacity. The remainder was divided between a handful of small scale enterprises. This compares to an annual output of 30 million pairs at the height of the Soviet era, produced by 18 major manufacturers.
