Georgia expects plentiful, high quality hazelnut harvest in 2019
This year more than 40,000 tonnes of hazelnut are expected to be harvested, while last year Georgian farmers picked just 17,000 tonnes of hazelnut. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgia is getting ready for a rich and high quality hazelnut harvest season during which thousands of tonnes of hazelnuts will be picked and sold locally or exported.
This year more than 40,000 tonnes of hazelnut are expected to be harvested, while last year Georgian farmers picked just 17,000 tonnes of hazelnut.
Executive Director of Georgian Hazelnut Growers Association Giorgi Todua told Agenda.ge that the harvest will start in about two weeks and will last until the end of August.
Todua said that most of the harvested hazelnuts will be exported to European markets as the “demand is very high for Georgian hazelnuts there”.
Hazelnut harvest will take place in the Georgian regions of Samegrelo, Guria, Adjara and Imereti.
Georgian Hazelnut Growers Association and the National Food Agency of Georgia discussed the implementation process of the Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project. Photo: National Food Agency.
Todua said that this year farmers are expecting an exceptionally high quality harvest thanks to the Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project that was launched earlier this year.
A little time is left before harvesting, and it is especially important to continue the fight against stink bug and against fungal diseases. I would give three recommendations to the farmers: to spray the hazelnuts one more time before the harvest starts; to timely take the harvest; and to dry the hazelnuts properly”, said Todua.
Georgian Hazelnut Growers Association and the National Food Agency of Georgia discussed the implementation process of the Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project and agreed that the main result is already achieved – the farmers are actively performing hazelnut spraying activities.
So far the association has united about 15,000 farmers in the Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project who get recommendations from the agronomists.
The Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project is being implemented by the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture, USAID, Ferrero and CNFA and aims to increase the sustainable capacity and private sector development of the hazelnut industry in Georgia.
Hazelnuts represent Georgia’s largest agricultural export by value and support the livelihoods of more than 50,000 growers and processors, but due to inconsistent quality and lack of market distinction, Georgian hazelnuts often sell at lower prices. The project aims to transform and streamline the hazelnut value chain to improve the quality of Georgian hazelnuts.
Georgia’s hazelnut industry has attracted the interest of Switzerland's largest retail company Migros Group.
To strengthen the country’s role as a major global hazelnut exporter, Georgia is launching a new program to increase the quality of exported nuts and sell them worldwide at a premium price to improve the economic livelihoods of more than 50,000 local hazelnut growers.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has tasked Agriculture Minister Levan Davitashvili today with solving the country’s stink bug problem and issues with agricultural funguses; two of the major challenges facing the Georgian hazelnut sector.
The European Union (EU) has refused to import seven shipments of Georgian hazelnuts in 2018 due to the discovery of large amounts of the toxin aflatoxin..
Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey are joining forces to improve the quality and increase the production of hazelnuts, announces the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture.
“We have been fighting the stink bug for three years and this year we have finally successfully combatted it”, said Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze today in the western Georgian region of Samegrelo where together with other authorities and hazelnut sector representatives he summed up the state’s activities against the stink bug infestation.
In January-November 2019 Georgia exported 10,879.4 tonnes worth $54.76 million of shelled and unshelled hazelnuts, which amounted to 1.6 per cent of total Georgian exports in this period, show data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia.
The Georgian experience in fighting the brown marmorated stink bug was praised at 'International Symposium on Limiting the Spread of Contaminating Pests 2020' in Sydney, Australia, says the National Food Agency earlier today.
Farmers and fruit growers in Georgia's eastern Kakheti region are preparing for a bumper peach and nectarine season, during which about 35,000 tonnes of fruit is expected to be harvested, announces the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia.
A new hazelnut processing and storage facility has opened in the village of Tela, in Lagodekhi municipality of Georgia, which is operated by local company Agritrade, announces the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia.
About 50,000 tonnes of high quality hazelnuts are expected to be harvested in Georgia this year, announces the Ministry of Agriculture. Farmers in the Samegrelo region of Georgia have already started to gather the hazelnut harvest.
Georgia has already exported 1,334 tonnes of hazelnuts this year – twice as much as the country exported in the same period of last year, says the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture.