Indexes
October 2018 | Agri Review
29
October
2018
Back in 2015 Georgian sheep market got into the spotlight due to the increased demand for sheep from Arabic countries. Prior to 2015, Azerbaijan was the most important export destination for live sheep, while in 2015, in addition to Azerbaijan, Georgian sheep were exported to the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. Current trends in the trade data show, that exports of live sheep decrease, while exports of sheep meat increase, which is the sign of sheep market development and increased potential for higher value-added in the sheep value chain.
According to the data, meat export price is more than twice higher than live weight export price which motivates Georgian sheep exporters to focus on meat exports rather than the export of live animals.
While generally switching from primary exports to more value addition is good news for the sector, the imports of live sheep and sheepmeat dramatically increased in 2018, which might negatively affect domestic production. Particularly dangerous is the re-export of sheep meat which requires strict control to ensure that imported foreign sheep meat is not re-exported as Georgian sheep meat. In the absence of control, there are food safety-related risks that might adversely affect domestic sheep farmers and Georgia’s relations with its trade partners well as.
Recent Publications
View All
December 2023 | Agri Review
29
December
2023
Citrus production in Georgia is currently experiencing a declining trend, despite the implementation of a tangerine state subsidy program. Under the program, farmers receive 30 instead of 15 tetri for 1 kg of non-standard (low-quality) tangerines.
September 2023 | Agri Review
29
September
2023
Rtveli 2023 commenced this August. Similar to previous years, the Government of Georgia (GoG) is subsidizing the grape harvest again to support farmers who have suffered from worsening climate conditions. Based on information from MEPA representatives, the subsidy's primary aim is to guarantee that even producers with lower-quality grapes can still sell their products.
June 2023 | Agri Review
30
June
2023
In June 2023, the National Statistics Office of Georgia issued its annual publication on the agricultural sector – Agriculture of Georgia 2022. The publication estimates that agriculture, forestry, and fishing comprised 7.5% of the GDP (constant prices) in 2022, which is lower than the 8% share in 2021, but in line with general trends over the last few years (agricultural GDP being 7-8% of GDP on average).
March 2023 | Agri Review
31
March
2023
The budget for the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) amounted to 698.5 million GEL (an increase of 10.0 million GEL) in 2023.
December 2022 | Agri Review
26
December
2022
Hazelnuts are one of the most important crops for Georgia in terms of export: between 2010-2021, they accounted for around 4.4% of total exports (GeoStat, 2022). In 2013, the quantity of exported hazelnuts reached its maximum level (30 ths. tons), in the following years, it then decreased to 19 ths. tons alongside an increase in value, thus indicating higher prices per exported kg of Georgian hazelnut.
