BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 28
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
Imports of potatoes (excluding seed potatoes) to Georgia in July 2021 amounted to 1,200 tons, showing significant increase in imports compared to the same period from 2014 through 2020, Trend reports with reference to EastFruit.
According to the information, monthly imports of potato in Georgia in 2021 were lower compared to annual imports from 2014 through 2020.
It is noted that the low volume of imports in the previous months was caused by good local supply and a decrease in demand due to COVID-19 pandemic. Some 94 percent of potato imports come from Turkey. The average price amounted to $230 per ton.
In June, attention was attracted by an increase in exports, not imports of potatoes from Georgia. Farmers link these two facts. Nika Gavtadze, a spokeswoman for Solar Harvest (Mziani Mosavali), a large potato producer and supplier to the Georgian potato chips company Frixx, said the potatoes exported to Russia were for local consumption.
The harvest in Samtskhe-Javakheti, the main potato producer in Georgia, is still several weeks away.
According to the results of EastFruit price monitoring, despite active imports, wholesale prices for potatoes increased in August. In early July, the average wholesale price was 0.8 lari / kg ($0.26), compared to 1.4 lari / kg ($0.45) last week.
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