BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 29
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
A modern refrigeration facility for storing fruits and vegetables was opened with state support in the Signagi municipality (Kakheti region, Eastern Georgia), Trend reports via EastFruit portal.
Refrigerating chambers are designed for storage, in aggregate, up to 1,000 tons of fruits and vegetables at a time. The farm is owned by the Georgian agricultural cooperative Kartuli Khili, which includes 25 hectares of modern orchards (including apples, persimmons and plums) in the same municipality.
According to the representative of Kartuli Khili Tornike Chincharauli, the cooperative intends to use the refrigeration facility both for storing its own harvest and fruit and vegetable products purchased from other farmers. It is also possible that refrigerators will be leased to local manufacturers.
“Now we are just starting our activity. We planned to open our refrigeration facility in the spring - by the time most of the fruits ripen, but the installation specialists were unable to arrive from abroad on time due to the coronavirus pandemic. We look forward to an increase in fruiting in the coming years, and also intend to continue expanding the areas allocated for fruit crops," he said.
"In addition, we plan to purchase fruits from partner farmers. Perhaps we will lease cold rooms. Local vegetable producers have already shown interest in our refrigeration facilities. We ourselves are planning to organize the production of vegetables, we will grow them first in the open field, and then in a greenhouse, which we will build next year. This will allow us to load our refrigeration facilities for more months,” Chincharauli said.
According to the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, more than 1 million lari ($311,000) were invested in the project of a new refrigeration facility in the Signagi region. Out of the total amount, 600,000 lari ($186,000) was a grant, about 600,000 lari - a preferential agricultural loan, which the cooperative received within the framework of the state "United Agricultural Project", a certain amount was invested by the shareholders of Kartuli Khili.
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