BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 12
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgia is expecting to harvest about 80 tonnes of blueberries this year, Trend reports referring to Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture.
Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture Solomon Pavliashvili and Guria region's State Representative Zurab Nasaraia visited blueberry plantation of LLC Blueberry in Naruja, Ozurgeti Municipality, Guria region.
Blueberry plantations located in Georgia’s Guria region have expanded by 16 ha with state support and now cover 225 ha of cultivated land. The Blueberry company is a beneficiary of the project of the Ministry of Agriculture entitled "Plant the Future".
The company was involved in state projects in 2016. The LLC received funding of 100,000 lari ($33,018) for cultivation of the garden and the arrangement of irrigation systems, including 96,600 lari ($31,895) for seedlings imported from France and 3,380 lari ($1,116) for drip systems.
As reported, in total 150 people will be employed during the blueberry harvest.
"State projects significantly support the revival of berries. As of today, the price of blueberries vary at 13-15 lari ($4.29-4.95) which is quite a high income source for the producer. Demand for berries is high on domestic as well as export markets," said Pavliashvili.
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