Two unique factories bring 150 jobs to central Georgia

Georgia is embracing new technologies and offering greater support to new business owners to bolster the country’s agricultural industry.

Today Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili opened a new fruit alcohol factory in Georgia’s central Shida Kartli region.

The $4.5 million USD factory, equipped with top of the range Italian technologies, opened within the state’s ‘Preferential Agro Credit’ project.

The ‘Preferential Agro Credit’ project launched in 2013 to give better support to new agricultural business owners and improve the ways agricultural businesses operate.

Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili (C) visiting the new fruit alcohol factory in Agara. Photo by the PM's press office. 

Kvirikashvili said the new factory was important for Georgia as it could process 50 tonnes of fruit (including non-standard fruit unable to be exported) and produce three tonnes of high quality alcohol.

Fifty people were employed in the new factory, and the new fruit spirit was destined for export.

Earlier today Georgia’s Prime Minister also visited a new company called Geofert that makes environmentally-friendly fertilizers. Located in Kaspi in the Shida Kartli region, Geofert is described as a high-tech microbiology enterprise that’s fitted with modern machinery and production lines.

Kvirikashvili said the new business was another important example of private-state partnership and the operations of Geofert were extremely important for the country’s agricultural industry.

The $4.5 million USD fruit alcohol factory is equipped with top of the range Italian technologies. Photo by the PM's press office. 

He noted Georgian scientists had developed new soil recovery technology and this was "a very bright example” of economic development using modern technologies.

Using mineral fertilizers and chemicals is a major problem that leads to soil depletion and environmental pollution. The worst part is we consume food that is grown in this soil and contains all these harmful elements.

This is all changing thanks to Geofert. Products made at this enterprise are ecologically clean. Thanks to this enterprise Georgia may take over the niche market as manufacturer of biologically and ecologically clean products,” said Kvirikashvili.

A total of $7 million USD was invested in the new factory. A significant portion of the new equipment was made by Georgian scientists and engineers and this helped to keep costs down. If this machinery was imported, costs would have reached $25-30 million, said Kvirikashvili.

Georgia's PM said Georgian scientists had developed new soil recovery technology and this was "a very bright example” of economic development using modern technologies. Photo by the PM's press office. 

This is a good example of how new technologies and Georgian scientists may contribute to the development of enterprise that introduces groundbreaking methodologies in the field of agriculture,” said Kvirikashvili.

The plant was financed by the Cartu Charity Foundation, which was established and financed by Georgian tycoon and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Just over 100 people are employed in the new factory. Once fully operational, the number of people employed at Geofert was expected to reach 240 or there about, said the PM.

The new factory would produce high quality fertilisers for local and export markets.

The ‘Preferential Agro Credit’ scheme supported primary agricultural production, processing, storage and sale by providing farmers and entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector with cheap, long-term and preferential funds.