Caucasus Business Week #303

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November 11, 2019 - www.cbw.ge

#303

WEEK

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Growing Prices and Government’s Macroeconomic Policy

Problems in Bio Production

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Preparing Qualified Staff should be a Key Investment in Georgia

Georgia on the Global Olive Map

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Enterprises founded by Foreign Citizens paid 945 million GEL to state Budget in 2018

New Destination from Tbilisi International Airport

State budget payments made by enterprises of foreign citizens is growing, according to the report by Government Commission for Migration.

From March, 2020 Etihad Airways will start to operate direct flights on the route Abu-Dhabi-Tbilisi. Daily flights will be performed with Airbus 321 type aircraft.

Ryanair to launch flights to the Georgian Aviation Market Tomorrow

Georgian Beer Company Zedazeni to be Part of China International Import Expo 2019

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair is launching regular flights to Tbilisi and Kutaisi. The first flight will take place at Tbilisi International Airport on November 6.

China International Import Expo 2019 takes place in Shanghai during November 5-10, on which Georgian Beer Company represents full assortment.

Plans of the Minister of Education after Resigning

Cavea Cinemas from Georgia introduces First-ever ScreenX

Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Mikheil Batiashvili resigns. This was announced today at a government meeting.

On November 14st, Cavea Cinemas opens up a new theater in the Saburtalo district, Tbilisi, introducing the ScreenX technology for the first time in the whole region.

TBC transmits Cartu Assets to Liberty Bank

Smoking to be banned from Stadiums and Sports Complexes from January 1

We maintain strong positions and we own comfortable market ratio.

TBC Bank has no more expansion plans for several years, the Bank director general Vakhtang Butskhrikidze noted regarding the package of offers that Bidzina Ivanishvili voiced for the Entrepreneurs magazine. Cartu Bank is not mentioned in the list of assets with 30% and 50% discounts. As reported, Liberty Bank was interested in buying Cartu Bank. Earlier, a group of Israeli businessmen also expressed interest in buying Cartu Bank.

The Weapon to enforce the Occupation against itself - Installation

By Irakli Sabekia Georgian Designer Irakli Sabekia has developed a project "Voicing Borders", a device that can turn the border fence between Russia and Georgia into a radio transmitter.

From January 1, 2020, smoking in the open space of stadiums and sports complexes will be banned.

TBC Leasing attracts 9 million EUR Financial Resources Proparco company has allocated 9 million EUR financial resource to TBC Leasing.

The Editorial Board Follows Press Freedom Principles Publisher: LLC Caucasian Business Week - CBW Director: Levan Beglarishvili WWW.CBW.GE Address: Aleksidze Street 1 Sales: Mob: +995 591 01 39 36 Email: caucasianbusiness@gmail.com Editor: Nutsa Galumashvili. Mobile phone: 595 380382 Copy Editor: Ellie Rambo Reporters: Nina Gomarteli; Mariam Kopaliani; Merab Janiashvili, Economic columnist: Andria Gvidiani; Technical Assistant: Giorgi Kheladze;

Ryanair's First Tbilisi and Kutaisi Winter 2019 Flights take off 3 New Routes to Milan Bergamo, Bologna and Marseille Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, today (7 Nov) celebrated the first flights of its first ever Georgia winter schedule with the start of its new four times weekly service from Tbilisi to Milan Bergamo, and its two times weekly routes from Kutaisi to Bologna and Marseille. Ryanair’s Georgia Winter 2019 schedule, with these three new routes, will help deliver 130,000 customers to/from Tbilisi and Kutaisi airports this year.

Ryanair’s Georgia Winter 19 schedule will deliver: • 1 new route from Tbilisi to Milan Bergamo (4 pw) • 2 new routes from Kutaisi to Bologna (2 pw) & Marseille (2 pw) • 130,000 customers p.a.

• 100* “on-site” jobs p.a.

To celebrate the start of its winter schedule, Ryanair has released seats on sale from just €16.99, for travel between now

and the end of March, which are only available for booking on the Ryanair.com website until midnight Saturday (9 Nov).

Ryanair’s Denis Barabas said: “We’re delighted to officially launch our Georgia winter 2019 schedule, with the start of our new routes from Tbilisi to Milan Bergamo and from Kutaisi to Marseille and Bologna. Today marks the start of our first ever winter schedule for Tbilisi and Kutaisi airports which will help deliver 130,000 customers to/from Tbilisi and Kutaisi airports this year.

To celebrate, we are releasing seats for sale from just €16.99 for travel from now until the end of March 2020, which are available for booking until midnight, Saturday 9th Nov. Since these amazing low fares will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto

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www.ryanair.com and avoid missing out.”

Giorgi Chogovadze, CEO of 'United Airports of Georgia', said: “One of the largest low-cost airlines enters Georgian market, we can say that, this is the successful completion of intensive negotiations we have held with Ryanair for the past few months. From now, Ryanair will offer direct flights to Europe both from Kutaisi and Tbilisi International Airports. Our goal is to increase number of airline companies operating in Georgia. That is a guarantee of the development of tourism and hospitality sector, creating additional jobs and stimulating the economy.

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Growing Prices and Government’s Macroeconomic Policy GEL depreciation has provoked a growth in prices. The inflation has hit its maximum rate since June 2017. How does the National Bank plan to lower inflation and how should we appraise the government’s macroeconomic policy? Analyst Andria Gvidiani has discussed the mentioned issues for the BusinessPartner TV program.

The NBG has made a mistake, it tightened the monetary policy in September, not in June, and delayed taking preventive measures for efficient management of inflation. Monetary policy tightened in September or October will bring real effects at the end of 2019 or at the beginning of 2020, he said.

Today, the official inflation rate is 6.9%, twice higher than the target rate and this is the result of the NBG’s inefficient monetary policy. Consequently, there are risks that high inflation thwart economic growth, Gvidiani said.

The NBG was to raise the monetary policy rate in May, when the GEL devaluation signs emerged, Gvidiani noted When talking about correlation between inflation and the currency exchange rates, first we should make focus on effective exchange rate, not the nominal exchange rate.

The effective exchange rate includes: the nominal exchange rate in our country, the nominal exchange rates

in

those importer countries, from where our country carries out imports and general level of prices in importer countries, that is, inflation rates.

“The effective exchange rate started deterioration in relation to Russian and Turkish economies in May. This signifies that economic recovery in two major trade partners and positive economic tendencies there brought negative effect onto our exchange rate and consequently, the effective exchange rate started devaluation stage by stage. This signified that the mentioned factor would hit our economy automatically.

I think the NBG has made mistake, when it

did not raise the monetary policy rate and did not took preventive measures for efficient management of inflation near the target rate. Consequently, this process has become of irreversible character. The June 20-21 developments have also aggravated the situation, as well as a slowdown in incomes from tourism in July and August 14 times, initially, and then by 11% later. These factors have aggravated pressure on inflation several times. Therefore, 0.5% growth in monetary policy rate in September and then a 1% raising of the rate at the ahead of schedule meeting of the monetary policy committee was an essential shock. This approach has already brought problems and will bring much more problems to both economic and macroeconomic directions”, Andria Gvidiani said.

Protracted decision for raising of monetary policy rate will bring effect much later, he explained.

‘When the monetary policy is tightened, effects appear in mid-term period. I mean that we were to tighten the policy and take respective decision for efficient management of inflation in June and today we would have real results, while the September and October decisions will bring effect at the end of 2019 or at the beginning of 2020”, Andria Gvidiani said.

The Authorities should show uncompromising and bold position for building new electricity stations, because energy independence is one of the key factors for political stability of the country, Gvidiani said.

Growing electricity imports is another fundamental factor that provokes GEL devaluation and strengthens inflation risks.

It should be noted that 99% of imported electricity was received from Russia in October and besides inflation aspects, this factor threatens Georgia’s security too, he said.

Georgia’s energy dependence is related to indifferent position to construction of new hydro power stations and government’s excessively concessive position to this issue, Gvidiani said.

“Energy security and energy independence is one of the key aspects of Georgia’s political stability. Consequently, today’s policy, indifferent position to construction of new hydro power plants and absence of uncompromising attitude create certain problems. This happens when Georgia possesses huge resources in terms of hydropower development. We are capable for developing about 15 500 megawatt installed generation power, but we have employed only 3000 megawatts. In kw/hours, this means that

Georgia has not employed about 40 billion kw/h resources. Common sense is required to make due analysis in this respect. Therefore, we believe that the Authorities should show uncompromising position and build new power stations. We must employ all resources, including in terms of construction of major HPPs”, Andria Gvidiani said.

At the same time, people criticizing Russian natural gas imports do not protest against growing dependence on Russian electricity imports and this is a controversial fact, Andria Gvidiani noted.

‘We remember that opposition parties and civil sector representatives showed negative position to the agreement with Gazprom, referring to growing dependence on Russian natural gas. Today Georgia has the lowest ever gas supply dependence on Russia – only 3%. However, the same category does not talk about growing dependence on Russian electricity. When talking about energy independence, both directions – electricity and gas supply directions are very important and the Authorities should take bold and uncompromising decisions in this respect”, Andria Gvidiani said.

The key problem is that the Authorities and local population lack for valuable communication, he explained.

“A lack of communication is a key challenge. Certain nongovernmental organizations, the so-called green NGOs frequently spread misinformation and hamper the process of building new HPPs. Moreover, no countermeasures are taken by the Authorities. There is not aggressive and constructive campaign with our population to explain benefits from hydro power plants. The majority of local population does not realize these benefits and they receive information from only NGOs, which in most cases try to hinder the construction of HPPs”, Gvidiani said.

Problems in Bio Production The 2021-2027 agriculture development strategy does not mention bio production promotion issues at all, while the country has huge potential for its development, both domestically and on foreign markets, Mariam Jorjadze, Director of the Elkana Association of Biological Farming told BusinessPartner.

The Elkana Director says that bio production is one of the key competitive advantages for Georgia

The petition proves that our society has a positive attitude towards bio production, Jorjadze said.

“We held the petition for a short period to examine the public interest, and for a week we collected 1,200 signatures.

This fact proves that Georgian citizens appreciate healthy and high-quality products; however, our officials do not demonstrate the necessary efforts. Our legislation is also invaluable, and people engaged in this sector do not provide the necessary support, either”,Jorjadze said.

The Elkana Director says that bio production development will bring serious benefits to the country, including in the tourism sector.

“We strive to become a country attractive to tourism, and we should know what we want – massive tourism or elite tourism, when everything is high class, including food products, if we do not want to host guests with frozen chicken from Brazil”, Jorjadze said.

Many farmers are interested in bio production, but agriculture development strategy says nothing about the promotion of this field. The authorities have even suspended the 100-million assistance program, and farmers are waiting in vain for a normal answer, Jorjadze said.

“Last year, the authorities seemed ready to launch a certain program to promoting bio production. The country should follow a certain strategy, and the Agriculture Ministry issued their first document, entitled Agriculture Development Strategy for 2021-2027.

However, this document has only one word on bio production, and the whole document says nothing more about bio production and organic production. We received firm promises in 2018, entrepreneurs and suppliers held meetings and workshops were held, and they decided that such a program would be implemented. We have seen the program’s project, and only the ex0Prime Minister’s signature was required, and then everything was stopped and suspended.

Farmers come to us, who have attended those meetings, who have seen these promises on TV and they ask us: what has happened? Why was this program halted? The issue was about 100 million GEL. The Agriculture Ministry’s

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on the global market, and the authorities should prioritize this field. Despite this, the 2021-2027 Agriculture Development Strategy has no reference to bio production promotion, in practice. As for the public attitude to the issue, Elkana arranged a petition requesting that we make bio production one a priority.

More than 1,200 citizens signed the petition for a week, and the document has been submitted to the Parliament.

officials told us that the program was suspended because of a lack of money.

However, the strategy was published with no reference to bio production, approaches in the sector or any other support. Therefore, we have decided to ask the public whether it is interested in developing this field.. All visions should be based on an appropriate analysis.

For example, I have not seen a vision of how the agricultural field should develop, and where our priorities should be placed. Only one organization and several small projects work in bio production, and this field has developed at a very slow pace, while perspectives on both domestic and external markets are huge”, Jorjadze said.

Some Georgian farmers want to develop bio production, but they do not have they frequently do not have the option. Bio production is a competitive advantage for our country on the global market, and the authorities should prioritize this field. However, according to Jorjadze, the government has not included this field in the 2021-2027 agriculture development strategy, and it has suspended even a 100 million GEL support program. Elkana has already submitted a petition to the parliament for making bio production a priority field for the government. The petition was signed by 1,200 citizens for a week.

During discussions, Jorjadze pointed out that bio production development will assist Georgian winemaking in overcoming various problems, and it ensures the production of high-quality wines.

“The majority of certified bio farmers today are registered in winegrowing, because all of them took certificates to improve sales. We have a lot of bio winemakers, who sell their certified wines at expensive prices, because bio methods in winegrowing are one of the preconditions for making the best wines.

Now, major companies also prefer to follow the principles of bio production, because this method ensures high quality of wines”, Jorjadze said.

According to Elkana’s Director, frequently, farmers want to launch bio production, but they don’t have the opportunity, and production of highquality products is hindered.

“For example, in the nut production

sector, where I started a business in 2018. The sector unites about 800 farmers. In practice, all of them wanted to apply bio standards, but there are small farms in Georgia and the program against marmorated stinkbugs has hampered the introduction of these standards. In most cases, we have problems with farmers’ techniques rather than stinkbugs. I mean, they should care for hazelnut as much as for vineyards, because hazlenut production has become industrialized, and it requires a lot of agricultural methods.

Earlier farmers used to enter plantations once a year for picking harvest, and this practice should be changed, and so on. A huge effort should be made in this field. Frequently, people have the will, but have no option to follow the principles of bio production, because amid the general program against the marmorated stinkbug, it is impossible to keep small farms in clean condition. In Europe and developed countries, there entirely different legislation. If a farmer decides to follow bio production, those countries ensure elementary protection guarantees. I do not mean costs in the millions of GEL. The problem is that in Georgia, there is no opportunity for bio production development, even if I have the required plans, because these are small plots, and all lands around my farm were treated against marmorated stinkbugs. We will never surprise the world with cheap products. We cannot be competitive in this respect.

Our chance is high-quality products”, Mariam Jorjadze said.

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Businessman Zurab Chkhaidze, founder of the Kakhetian Traditional Winemaking company (KTW Group), asserts that the training of human resources is a key challenge.

“There are many problems in terms of training of human resources. The government should do its best to train new staff. This should become a challenge for not only the government, but this should be the social responsibility of the population, too. I believe that the training of qualified staff should be a key investment in Georgia.

As for infrastructure development, I think huge investments should be made in this field throughout the year. If we want to develop tourism and the regions, we should Werner Liepach thinks start with infrastructure that Georgia has one development”, Zurab of the best investment Chkhaidze said. environment, but “According to the there are challenges, Mestia development too, including plan, more than infrastructure, power 200,000 beds should issues and human be arranged, and in resources. this case, a lot of staff Irakli Gurchiani should be invited from also places focus other regions. But on infrastructural this will happen only problems in after the main road regions, and names is developed and the Svaneti. Improved tunnel from Kutaisi is communication will also develop hotels, and built, which will make Svaneti very attractive local staff will manage for tourists”, Irakli to become trained by Gurchiani said. itself.

Preparing Qualified Staff should be a Key Investment in Georgia

“Nobody argues that infrastructure development is an important field, and the authorities should resolve this issue. As a result, developed infrastructure will inspire commercial organizations and private entities to arrange new structures and assets.

The government should just develop communications.

For example, in Svaneti, there is no worthwhile internet connection. There is no gas, and roads are in bad conditions.

Ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili had a very good plan for building a tunnel from Kutaisi. Without this project, Svaneti will remain in the same condition, and tourists will visit the region only in summer and by foot”, Toyota Center Tbilisi founder Irakli Gurchiani commented on the statement by Werner Liepach, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Director General for Central and West Asia department, regarding the current investment challenges in Georgia.

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Salome Macharashvili: "The Rise of Digital Resources has given us a Good Opportunity for Effective Communication with the Public" Interview with Head of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications at the Innovations and Technologies Agency, Salome Macharashvili.

Tell us about how you got into the field of marketing, and what factors played an important role in choosing this profession?

Love for her job, comfort in relationships and being results-oriented, with the appropriate competence and caring attitudes.

My passion for PR and marketing was inspired by society’s attitude, an abstract attitude towards the sector and the professional needs were too great ... During my studies at the public relations faculty, some people's knowledge and experience led me to this stage, where I thought about the relationship’s uniqueness, and I felt a desire to start gaining practical experience, along with a theoretical education.

What do you do to keep the organization from falling behind on new trends and keep applying innovative approaches to marketing?

What challenges do you face as a leader in marketing, during a time of technological change?

This is a very interesting process, as technological changes and the existence of ever-evolving resources are an ideal tool when dealing with new challenges to developing creative thinking; act in real time, make any service and communication process more flexible using digital resources.

What has changed in the field in the last 5 years, and what changes are expected?

The evolving development and diversity of digital resources has given us a good opportunity to communicate effectively with the public, and simplify the feedback process. Technological development is a very lively process, hence the digitization of services, the creation of simple and flexible services, etc. is very important today.

What do you think are the most important qualities a marketing manager should have and what is his / her role in the organization in general?

Since we represent the Innovations and Technologies Agency of Georgia, our mission is to create the ecosystem needed for innovation and technological development in the country, to promote the commercialization of knowledge and innovation, to stimulate the use of innovation and technology, etc.

A very vivid example of Georgia's innovative and startup ecosystem is the Startup Grind event, which took place on November 8-10, bringing together world-class startups, technology companies, investors and experts.

What’s your organization’s business model, in terms of marketing?

Our agency’s goal is to make it easier for the public to access upto-date, innovative and high-tech news that will foster the development of innovation, digital literacy, and idea commercialization skills.

One word that describes your job.

Innovative The most useful advice you’ve ever received in your life?

“Count to ten in critical situations” Think of a person who inspires you, professionally.

It is very difficult to name one specific person in our field, there are many interesting people who give me distinct inspirations.

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Business News

Shota Berekashvili to become General Director of M² Group

New Digital Device OPTIMO to be set up The digital device Optimo which is created for small and medium-sized businesses is set up with the full load.Above-mentioned device aims to simplify working processes and helps businesses to operate better and develop themselves.

Recently, he was managing partner of m2 group and head of building management field.

Turkish Ambassador on Business Environment in Georgia for Turkish Businessmen “Georgia is one of the countries, where Turkish businessmen are able to arrive and make money in comfortable environment”, Turkish Ambassador in Georgia Fatma Ceren Yazgan noted. disciplinary cultural centers and other cultural organizations from across Europe Bidzina Ivanishvili to buy 22 Hotels in Tskaltubo at Open Auction

The Head of the New Holding will be Irakli Burdiladze Georgia Real Estate Holding will unite MR Group (which involves M2 and building company BK CONSTRUCTION) and the field of hotels and real estate property that is used for business activities. This will be positioned on the market with the name of Amber Group.

Ex Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili plans to buy Tskaltubo-based sanatoriums and bathes at open and competitive auction.

My business projects in Georgia are of charity character in most cases and I am ready to sell my businesses in Georgia.

Best Western Hotel opens in Likani Near the Borjom-Kharagauli resort, new hotel opens in October 2020, which is part of Reserve Best Western Hotels & Resorts complex. Investment price of the hotel, which contains 60 rooms, is $4 Million. Ltd Linda is the tenant of land and building of the hotel, which is owned by Davit Kakiashvili.

Pulsar obtains 1.2 million USD Investment at Silicon Valley

Georgia Capital introduces New Tourism Brand of Amber Group to launch Six New Hotels Georgia Capital has introduced a new brand on Georgia’s tourism market and plans to launch 11 new hotels with about 600 suites. The new brand is named as Amber Group.

Fabrika became Member of European Cultural Centers Network Today Fabrika Tbilisi became the full member of cultural centers network – Trans Europe Halles!

Trans Europe Halles (TEH) is a European network of independent cultural centers initiated by citizens and artists. Founded in 1983, it currently brings together more than 110 multi-

Georgian startup Pulsar has obtained 1.2 million USD investment from venture funds of Silicon Valley and private investors. The company is to establish a dialogue automation technology on the US market and offer competition to the US-based players in various industries.

Former Co-founder of Myway Airlines plans establishing New Air Company Former financial director, Igor Aptsiauri of Georgian Air Company "Myway Airlines" starts a new business. As Aptsiauri noted, a new company is being established, which will work in several fields. In particular, this matter will include consultation and tour operating directions.

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The Venue for One of the Most Extraordinary Events in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry is already Known successfully established itself as a unique platform to develop the country's tourism sector, serving as a kind of "Oscars" to celebrate the achievements of the Georgian tourism and hospitality industry!

The venue of the 5th Anniversary Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards Gala Ceremony is already known - striking and sophisticating new place in Tbilisi - SHERATON GRAND TBILISI METECHI PALACE will host the most extraordinary event of the Tourism and Hospitality industry of Georgia, on December 6, 2019.

The Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards is an annual awards ceremony held in Georgia for the field of tourism and hospitality since 2015. It has

This year appears to be anniversary for the Project, so the format of the event will be quite different from the previous years, as the organizers plan to make real “Happy Birthday” evening for each of the attendees, and move from Rustaveli Theatre to the hotel venue, with Gala Evening and interesting interactive show elements. At the Awards Ceremony, winners and finalists of 26 different nominations, out of more than 250 nominees, will deservedly receive recognition for “The Best in Tourism and Hospitality.” We are also glad to mention that guests will have chance to meet the finalists and winners in the new award categories 2019: “The Best Airline Company”, “The Best Traditional Craft”, “The Best Niche Tourism”, “The Best Rural Tourism”, “The Best Small Winery”, “The Best Responsible Tourism”. Besides this, this year After-Party will be very

different also, but the details are kept in secret and will be known to the guests a little bit later.

The Event will host up to 700 guests: Owners and general managers of the best hotels, restaurants, wineries, the market leading developers, the main businesses of the country, government officials, national and local authorities, representatives of the largest hotel operators, travel agencies and tour operators, mass media and industry press, filmmakers, and etc.

For the fifth year already, the event: Co- organizers are: the Georgian National Tourism Administration on behalf of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and Bank of Georgia.

Official Supporters: Tbilisi City Hall and Agency of Protected Areas.

General Sponsor - Alliance Group.

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Georgia on the Global Olive Map

Georgia will join the International Olive Council (IOC) at the end of November, 2019.

This organization has named Georgia as the third olive hub in Europe, Giorgi Svanidze, Georgian Olive founder told BusinessPartner.

As noted, in late November Georgia will become an IOC member and, in 2020, our country will preside over this organization too, Svanidze added.

The olive industry started 10 years ago in Georgia, and this is a very encouraging business, because this field has brought very efficient results, Giorgi Svanidze noted. Georgia’s adoption into the IOC is serious progress, and I congratulate everybody who loves this culture, he added.

“I would like to stress that we produce the best oil. When we submitted an application to the International Olive Council and delivered our olive oil there, they examined the product, and granted us a top quality certificate. The olive tree in Georgia grows faster in 10-12 centimeters, compared to the same tree in Turkey or other countries: the olive skin is thinner, and the stone smaller.

One liter of oil is pressed from five kilograms of olive, in the worldwide average, while in Georgia the best indicator is 3.73.8 liters from 4 kilograms. We

have received 3.7-3.8 liters. The seedling showed that ,from the very beginning, a special product would grow in Georgia with top quality and low acidity”, Svanidze said.

The Georgian Olive’s founder says the olive industry has very attractive characteristics, and it can surpass such traditional exports items as nuts and grapes.

“We started with barren lands that could not be ploughed – similar lands uniquely fit olive culture. Soon, olive fields will not only come up with grapes, hazelnut and other industries, but also surpass them. Neither hail nor drought damages the olive, irrigation is required at the outset and then the root goes deeper, vertically, and obtains resources for itself; it lives for 1000 years, and dozens of generations can receive benefits of new plants. Our people will learn about this opportunity, gradually, and shows interest”, Svanidze said.

Plant the Future, the program launched by the Agriculture Ministry, has essentially promoted the olive industry. The program covers 70% of the costs for planting seedlings and 50% of arranging irrigation systems. The program also calls for issuing a 40% grant in the case of olive production. Thus, this program has funded olive plantations on about 30,000 hectares. On the whole, olive plantations were

arranged on 50,000 hectares in Georgia. The price per kilogram is 1.5-2 GEL, and exceeds the price of some grape varieties. According to international research reports, by 2020-2025 the global value of the olive will hit 11 billion USD. The International Olive Council has named Georgia as the third hub in Europe, and this acknowledgement opens up serious opportunities for Georgia, Svanidze said.

“The International Olive Council has named Georgia as the third hub country. Europe needs the third hub. Spain is the first one, Italy is the second, and Georgia will place its focus on Asian countries. We have free customs regime with Asia, China, Russia, Europe and this is a huge opportunity. Georgia strives to compete with Spain, Italy, Tunis, thanks to its quality, not quantity.

Cooperation with these countries means the promotion of this field in our country, opening laboratories in Georgia, subsidization, trainings and so on”, Svanidze said.

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