...

Germany, other European countries express interest in Georgian hazelnuts

Business Materials 30 July 2020 08:04 (UTC +04:00)
Germany, other European countries express interest in Georgian hazelnuts

BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 29

By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:

Mass harvesting of hazelnuts will begin in Georgia on August 1, Trend reports via EastFruit portal.

The regions of Samegrelo and Guria (Western Georgia) are traditionally the first to start harvesting, a few days later they are joined by Kakheti (Eastern Georgia) and other regions.

Meanwhile, hazelnuts can already be found in small batches on Georgian agricultural markets. The cost of 1 kg of unpeeled hazelnuts starts at 2.5 lari ($0.8).

"This year, the hazelnut harvest in the country will be about 55,000 tons, and the income from its sale will be at least $100 million. The hazelnut harvest in Georgia last season was at the level of 40,000 tons," said Georgy Todua, executive director of the Georgian Hazelnut Producers Association.

"We expect that a large proportion of the projected yield will be of high quality, and this quality will lead to good prices. Moreover, the global demand for hazelnuts remains," he said.

"We are gradually regaining our positions in terms of quality and export level. Italy, Germany and other European countries have expressed interest in our hazelnuts. We are working to ensure that the supply process of high-quality hazelnuts becomes stable again. And the DCFTA agreement between Georgia and the European Union helps us not only to regain our previous positions, but also to make the Georgian hazelnuts even more popular," he said.

For a number of years, hazelnuts held leading positions in the structure of Georgian exports, however, due to fungal diseases of hazelnuts, export indicators began to decline since 2017. Large-scale measures of the state together with Georgian Hazelnut Producers Association to combat hazelnut pests and diseases led to a turning point in the situation in 2019 for the better.

Thus, the export of hazelnuts from Georgia in the period from August to December 2019 in monetary terms amounted to $49.55 million, which is 75 percent more than a year ago ($28.31 million). In January through May 2020, hazelnut exports amounted to $17.37 million, which is 40 percent higher than in the same period last year ($12.43 million).

The total area of ​​hazelnut plantations in Georgia today is about 60,000 hectares.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356

Tags:
Latest

Latest