BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 17
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgia has increased export of nuts and fruits, said Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Levan Davitashvili, Trend reports citing EastFruit information and analytical platform.
Davitashvili noted that the growth of export of Georgian agricultural products is primarily due to the sale of hazelnuts and fruits on foreign markets.
“Over the years, hazelnuts have been a leading culture in the export of Georgian agri-food products, but in recent years, pests have had a significant impact on the quality and quantity of hazelnuts, which has posed us great challenges. As a result of an unprecedented campaign carried out by the state this year, we received a high quality hazelnut crop, which has already affected the indicators," the minister said.
According to him, by the end of 2019, hazelnut exports will exceed the figure of 2018 and amount to over $100 million.
He also emphasized that Georgia had a very successful peach season in 2019.
"The export of tangerines already exceeds the data for the same period last year. Over 15,000 tons of tangerines have been exported by Georgia. Significant growth is also observed in export of persimmons - one of the most important crops for Western Georgia. Over 7,300 tons of persimmons have already been exported; in monetary terms, the export increased by 100 percent compared with last year,” Davitashvili said.
According to Geostat, from January through October this year, the country exported fruits and nuts worth $78.9 million. Compared to the same period last year, the export indicator increased by 4.4 percent.
The share of fruits and nuts in Georgia’s total export volume for the reporting period amounted to 2.6 percent.
The main share in the value of the export of fruits and nuts in the reporting period accounts for hazelnuts - $42.3 million, peach - $12.5 million, banana - $4.8 million, apple - $4.5 million, persimmon - $2.3 million, mandarin – $2.2 million, pistachio - $1.4 million, and walnuts - $1.3 million.
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