According to the head of the Association of Almond and Walnut Growers of Georgia Tornike Lataria, the production of these products is a new industry for the country. The last year's harvest was of premium quality.
“Almonds and nuts industry is new for the country. Last year we collected about 2,000 tons of almonds and 2,500 tons of walnuts from commercial farms. Manufacturers carried out test exports to European countries, as well as to Turkey, Azerbaijan, China, India and other countries,” he says.
In Lataria’s words, almond imports has been practically replaced by local production.
“Imports have been replaced. Almonds were very expensive in Georgia and they were 100% imported. Our almonds were 4-5 times more expensive compared to the global prices.
Now local products are sold on the market that are much cheaper,” he notes.
Lataria adds that at the very beginning 7-8 years ago farmers made some mistakes but later all the shortcomings have been eliminated.
The Almond and Walnut Growers Association expects to double walnut crops yields this year.
“I think that next year the harvest will double and we should think about more active exports. This year we have managed to enter export markets, but a lot needs to be done in this regard,” Tornike Lataria stresses.
