Vegetable production up 15% in recent years - Agriculture Minister
“The co-financing will ensure the storage of the harvest in accordance with international standards and the development of the necessary infrastructure,” the Minister added. Photo: Georgian Agriculture Ministry
Tweet 
Share
Vegetable production in Georgia has increased by 15 percent in recent years and amounted to 176.1 tonnes, Otar Shamugia, the Agriculture Minister of the country, said on Thursday.
Shamugia revealed the figure in comments that also explained a bulk of vegetable imports came in the off-season due to a lack of the necessary infrastructure to store seasonal vegetables - including refrigeration facilities of modern standards and technologies.
The Government launched a state programme to co-finance vegetable storage enterprises for agricultural cooperatives to tackle the existing issue, he said.
The co-financing will ensure the storage of the harvest in accordance with international standards and the development of the necessary infrastructure,” the Minister added.
During his address to MPs in the Minister’s Hour format, Shamugia also talked about a programme for co-financing agricultural mechanisation, launched last year by the country’s Government. He said over ₾140 million ($45.6mln/€42.2mln) worth of agricultural machinery had been mobilised under the programme.
A total of 2,327 beneficiaries received various types of agricultural machinery under the programme, while the co-financing of the Rural Development Agency amounted to ₾45.6 million ($14.8mln/13.7mln), the official also noted.
The number of countries where Georgian wine is exported increased from 40 to 60 in recent years, Shamugia told the lawmakers, adding the United States, Poland, Germany, China and the Baltic states had been “firmly established” among the top ten exporting countries.
It should be noted that in 2021, 107 million bottles of wine were exported [...], which is the highest figure in the period of independent Georgia,” Shamugia said.
The Agriculture Minister was speaking at the Parliament yesterday in the Minister’s Hour format, where Government officials cover matters concerning their field of work and answer questions from legislators.
Georgia has the resources to increase its wheat self-sufficiency to 50 percent, Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia said on Wednesday, noting the state was ready to develop “stimulating projects” aimed at increasing wheat production in the country.
Georgia’s wine export growth rate reached more than 40 percent in January-February 2022, the Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia said on Monday, adding the figure reflected the “purposeful policy” of the Georgian Government.
Georgian farmers will be able to get low-interest loans for production of annual crops, following latest changes to the preferential agro-credit state programme, Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia announced on Monday.
Production of perennial crops in Georgia has increased by 33 percent in recent years and amounted to 600,000 tonnes, Otar Shamugia, the Agriculture Minister of the country, said on Thursday.
Georgian wheat production in 2021 increased by 32.9 percent to 136,100 tonnes, while the production of vegetables decreased by 15.4 percent to 149,000 tonnes year-on-year, the National Statistics Office of Georgia announced on Friday.
Georgia’s previous 80 percent dependence on wine exports to the Russian market has dropped to 57 percent, Otar Shamugia, the Georgian Agriculture Minister, said on Monday.
Georgia and Moldova are facing “common challenges” in the wake of the two countries’ formal European Union membership bids after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Otar Shamugia, the Georgian Agriculture Minister, said while stressing the importance of a “positive outcome” of the applications for the two states on Saturday.
Meat production in Georgia increased in the first quarter of the year to reach 16.7 tonnes, a 5.7 percent increase compared to the same period of 2021, the latest preliminary data of the Georgian National Statistics Office showed along with a decrease in milk production.
The Georgian Agriculture Ministry said on Friday it was expecting an “abundant” apple harvest of between 130-135 thousand tonnes in the country this year.
Georgia’s Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday said it expected this year’s apple harvest across the country to yield 50,000 tonnes.