Economy Minister: application for Russia allowing Georgian dairy import dates to 2020
Davitashvili, who is also a Deputy Prime Minister, was responding to “agitation” in the country on the reveal of the Russian supervision agency allowing the importation of the products from Georgia, and said “several Georgian companies” had applied for the permit in 2020. Photo: Government of Georgia
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The Russian authorities’ approval of importation of Georgian dairy relates to an application by Georgian private companies dating back to 2020, Levan Davitashvili, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, said on Monday.
Davitashvili, who is also a Deputy Prime Minister, was responding to “agitation” in the country on the reveal of the Russian supervision agency allowing the importation of the products from Georgia, and said “several Georgian companies” had applied for the permit in 2020.
The agitation that has arisen in the society is probably due to the lack of information. Especially during wartime [of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine], Georgia has not addressed this issue. This issue was addressed by private companies as they were interested in entering a new market, Davitashvili said.
The Minister said the companies had addressed Russia’s Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision agency in 2020, with no response on the request until now.
The answer came last Friday or Saturday, when the Russian side proactively decided that there might have been positive decisions concerning the applications received from Georgia, Davitashvili concluded in his comments.
On March 5, the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported the country’s Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision agency Rosselkhoznadzor had permitted 15 Georgian companies to supply milk and dairy products to Russia.
Turkey ($168.7 million), Russia ($128.6 million) and Azerbaijan ($122 million) are the top trading partners of Georgia in total external trade turnover in January 2022, preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) show.
Turkey (2.1 billion USD), Russia (1.6 billion USD) and China (1.4 billion USD) are the top trading partners of Georgia in total external trade turnover in 2021, preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) show.
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Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chairman of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, assessed Russia’s decision to open its market for Georgian dairy products as a “political provocation” on Monday.
The number of Russian citizens entering the territory of Georgia over the recent days is in the pre-pandemic range, Georgia’s Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili said on Monday.
General prices for medicines on the Georgian local market have been reduced by 60-80 percent following the import of medications from Turkey, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said earlier today.
Many of Russia's initiatives are directly aimed at causing internal strife and social division in Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, the Vice Speaker of the Parliament and MP from the opposition Citizens party, said in comments to the reveal of the Russian supervision authorities allowing importation of certain Georgian-made products on the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
Some political opponents of the Georgian Government are trying to drag the country into processes that will lead to economic collapse, Gia Volski, the First Deputy Chairman of the Georgian Parliament, said on Monday.
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Georgia is dependent on import of dairy products “to some extent”, and enterprises in the country have no resources to export such goods on various markets, Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia said on Wednesday.