"Why are hazelnut producers in Samegrelo region facing so many problems unlike the farmers in the region of Kakheti?"
Marble bugs have moved from China to Samegrelo but have failed to move to Kakheti. Even then they move to Kakheti, a farmer there takes care of the vineyard and takes care of the hazelnuts to solve the problem",
Levan Kardava, executive director of the Association of Georgian Hazelnut Processors and Exporters, said in the air of the radio station "Commersant".
In Kardava’s words, hazelnut orchards are not damaged in Kakheti and nuts there are of much higher quality than in Western Georgia. Marble bugs are seen near the Georgia-Turkey border and in Azerbaijan, but the farmers there are diligent, take care of their orchards, and are engaged in commercial hazelnut farming, that’s why marble bugs don’t spread there.
After the marble bugs appeared in Georgia in 2016-17, hazelnuts quality decreased as a result, their competitiveness making Georgian hazelnuts cheaper than Turkish and Azerbaijani ones. According to the Executive Director of Hazelnut Processors and Exporters Association, Georgian hazelnut producers are optimistic about the season and expect the harvest to be higher.
“In 2022 farmers harvested 45,000 tons of whole nuts , this year we expect at least 55,000 tons. Quality will be the same but due to the state subsidy project, those who were involved in the project will collect better quality nuts.
In teh same period of last year some farmers sold nuts for GEL 7-8 per kilogram, others for GEL 2-3,” Levan Kardava notes.
Talking about the nut prices, he says that they depend on quality.
