Baku, Azerbaijan, August 7
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Farmers in Georgian Adjara expect an increase in the yield of hazelnuts by 80 percent this year, said Minister of Agriculture of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara Tite Aroshidze, Trend reports citing commersant.ge.
Two years ago, hazelnut production in Georgia declined sharply, which was due to the invasion of brown marmorated stink bugs. As a result, the share of hazelnut in the structure of Georgian exports in 2017 fell from the second position (after copper ores and concentrates) to the eighth in the list of the country's main export goods, and for the following year it was not even among top ten.
According to the minister, as a result of measures taken to protect the country's crops, a large amount of hazelnuts is expected this year in Adjara.
The process of mass collection of hazelnuts in the region begins on August 10.
In January-June 2019, Georgia exported 3,100 tons of hazelnuts, which is 47.7 percent less than the figure for the same period in 2018. Revenue from export of hazelnuts for the six months of this year decreased by two times to $15.6 million. The sales markets for Georgian hazelnuts are mainly Europe, Russia and other CIS countries.