Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgia exported 3,100 tons of hazelnuts in January-June 2019, which is 47.7 percent less than the figure for the same period of 2018, Trend reports with reference to the National Statistics Department of Georgia.
The revenue from the export of hazelnuts for the six months of 2019 has decreased by 2 times - to $15.6 million. The markets for Georgian hazelnuts are mainly European and CIS countries, including Russia.
Two years ago, the production of hazelnuts in Georgia sharply reduced, due to the invasion of brown marmorated stink bugs. As a result, the share of hazelnuts in Georgian exports in 2017 dropped from the second position (after copper ores and concentrates) to eighth in the list of the country's main export goods, and for the second year it does not even make it to top ten.
According to data of the National Statistics Service, in 2018, the production of hazelnuts in Georgia amounted to 22,700 tons - 8.1 percent less than the previous year, exports - 12,900 tons (a decrease of 15.2 percent), export revenue - $69.7 million (a decrease of 16.2 percent).
Georgia previously ranked 4th in the world in terms of hazelnut production after Turkey, Italy and the US.
(1 USD = 2,88 GEL on July 24)