Agricultural export potential

Since the Russian embargo on Georgian wines came into effect Georgia has started establishing new markets for this product. Georgian wines are being exported to Finland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Liberia, Panama, Mongolia, North Korea, Cambodia, Ivory Coast, Singapore, India and some other countries, although not in large quantities.

Georgian mineral water is exported to 52 countries. Fruit juice has been exported to 30 countries, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, France and Russia, and from 2008 it is also being exported to Hong Kong, Cyprus, Holland, Greece and so on. Tinned fruit and vegetables have also become a serious export item, going to more than 25 countries. In 2008 export of these products increased 30% compared with 2007.

Recently Georgian greens have become very successful. Until 2006 these were exported only to Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, but since 2007 they have also entered Latvia, Moldova and Belarus. In 2008 they accessed the Estonian and German markets in 2009 Romania. Significantly, they have not only conquered new markets but the volume of exported greens has greatly increased. In 2008 almost 2,000 tonnes of greens were exported and almost 1 million USD was received. In first five months of 2009, over 3,000 tonnes were exported worth USD 1.8 million.

Tea production, once a very prosperous segment of agriculture, has declined but there is still some small growth here. Georgia exports tea to Finland, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Serbia, Montenegro and from 2009 Iraq, Moldova and Poland.

Recently Georgian spices have also become popular in different markets: Poland, the USA, Bulgaria, Japan, France and so on. In the first months of 2009 export of Georgian spices was 222 tonnes per month, whereas last year approximately 167 tonnes were exported each month. So the Georgian agricultural sector has good and promising tendencies, but still needs state support to develop further.