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Georgia to set limit on export of cattle

Business Materials 22 November 2019 14:20 (UTC +04:00)
Georgia to set limit on export of cattle

BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 22

By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:

The Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia plans to introduce a limit on the export of cattle, Trend reports referring to the ministry.

The ministry has already developed a corresponding project, according to which the weight of exported cattle should vary between 140 and 200 kg. The draft will be submitted to the government before the end of the year.

"There is a shortage of meat in Georgia. Slaughterhouses complain that it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to find livestock. This is due to several factors including, first of all, the volume of exports. About 500,000 heads of cattle were exported from the country over the past 3-4 years thus, reducing their number in Georgia," said Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Georgi Khanishvili.

The export of cattle is also one of the reasons for the rise in price of meat and meat products, as well as milk and dairy products, Khanishvili added. According to him, Georgia has rather great potential in terms of developing livestock production and it is necessary to increase productive livestock of foreign breeds and develop farms.

In his words, Georgia should gradually move from individual, domestic farms to large and productive farms that will ensure the delivery of high-quality and appropriate products to the market. Khanishvili is confident that this segment will be mastered in 2-3 years and Georgian breeders will be able to provide the market with high-quality milk and meat at reasonable prices.

According to the National Statistics Service of Georgia, the number of bovine animals decreased by 2.1 percent in Georgia at the end of the third quarter of 2019 compared to the third quarter of 2018.

Meanwhile, the number of bovine animals amounted to 902,100 heads. Among them, the total number of dairy cows and buffaloes decreased by 7.1 percent and equaled 436,600 heads.

The total number of sheep and goats decreased by 7.3 percent year-on-year and stood at 813,600 heads; of pigs - by 8.8 percent (225,400), and of poultry - by 3.7 percent (9.1 million).

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