Georgian PM says Gov’t to subsidise grape harvest, projects 300,000 tonnes to be harvested

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday announced the Government would subsidise grape harvest this year to ensure the crop could be “fully harvested”, farmers received “adequate income”, and the wine industry maintained its “stable development rate”.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of taking “all measures” to properly store and sell the projected 300,000 tonnes of grapes expected in this year's harvest.

The state will provide financial intervention, offering more than 20,000 winegrowers the opportunity to sell their harvest and enabling 500 companies involved in the harvest to purchase and process grapes smoothly through state subsidies”, he said.

Under the Government's decision, companies purchasing and processing at least 100 tons of Rkatsiteli grapes during the harvest will receive the state subsidy and pay ₾1 to the growers per kilogram of grapes. In Kakheti region, companies will receive a subsidy of 20 tetri per one kilogramme of Rkatsiteli grapes grown by local vineyards.

The Prime Minister also announced a coordination centre would be established to ensure “organised harvest” and support farmers and companies involved.

Otar Shamugia, the Minister of Agriculture of the country, has also expressed his office’s commitment to supporting the growth of the viticulture and wine industry. Shamugia emphasised the Government's aim for a “smooth” grape harvest settlement and measures for enabling growers to sell their produce “seamlessly” and ensuring “continued stable development” of the wine industry.

For more than 10 years, we have been actively helping the development of the viticulture and wine industry and we are implementing a number of programmes in this direction. During this period, the amount of processed grapes increased five times and export increased four times”, the Minister said.

He noted the export of wine and spirits had reached a “record figure” of $455 million in 2023, with the number of export countries rising from 43 to 66.

In recent years, winegrowers have been earning up to ₾300 million ($110.51mln) annually from the sale of grapes, and we think this year this income will be even higher. Of course, all this is the result of active cooperation between the state and the private sector and the implementation of supporting programmes from our side”, he said.

During today's Government meeting, Kobakhidze also emphasised a “remarkable growth” in grape processing from 52,000 tonnes in 2012 to over 221,000 tonnes in 2023. He said various Government programmes, support, and financing had contributed to the expansion of the industry.

He also noted an increase in income, stating that in 2012, viticulture had generated about ₾50 million ($18.42mln), while the figure had surged to ₾306 million ($112.72mln) in 2023, with expectations for further growth.

Additionally, Kobakhidze pointed out vineyard areas across the country had doubled from 2014 to 2023, with winegrowers planting up to 50,000 hectares of new vineyards. He added the number of registered companies producing wine had also soared from 40 in 2012 to around 3,000, and approximately 500 of these producers now exported wine.

Moreover, the Prime Minister discussed growth in wine exports, with exports reaching $260 million in 2023, compared to $71 million in 2012.

He highlighted the importance of various programmes and support, including preferential agro-credit sub-component, which has seen banks granting 653 loans worth over ₾886 million ($326.36mln) to grape processing enterprises. Co-financing from the Rural Development Agency amounted to ₾58 million ($21.36mln).