The state will help Georgian farmers to sell the harvest of apples

This year, a plentiful harvest of apples is predicted – approximately 130-135 thousand tons.
This year, the Georgian government, as in the previous two years, will help farmers to realize the harvest of non-standard apples, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said at a government meeting.
Apples, along with peaches, grapes and tangerines, are one of the main export items of Georgian agricultural products. Harvesting from farmers will begin in early September.
“We subsidized in previous years, and we will do so this year as well. As you know, special attention is paid to the production of apples in the municipalities of Gori and Kareli, and therefore it is necessary to encourage and support our farmers,” Garibashvili said.
According to the prime minister, not a single kilogram of non-standard apples will be left without attention and farmers will receive the corresponding income.
About 20 non-standard apple processing enterprises will be involved in the subsidy program. According to Garibashvili, a coordinating headquarters will be created so that everything goes at the highest level.
This year, a plentiful harvest of apples is predicted – approximately 130-135 thousand tons. However, frequent rains had a significant impact on the quality of apples.
Subsidizing non-standard apples
The government of Georgia has been helping farmers sell non-standard apple crops at fixed prices over the past two years.
According to the subsidy program, the state reimbursed companies 0.1 lari per kilogram if they accepted non-standard apples from farmers at a price of at least 0.22 lari per kilogram.
Also, in order for enterprises to be able to freely accept and process non-standard apples, they could use a preferential agricultural loan to replenish working capital.
The Substandard Apple Crop Incentive Program allows farmers to sell substandard apples at a reasonable price. At the same time, it helps to provide fruit processing enterprises with raw materials. The concentrate obtained from the processing of non-standard apples is mainly exported to the EU markets.
From August 1, 2021 to February 20, 2022, 5,308 tons of apples worth $3.4 million were exported from Georgia, the Ministry of Agriculture of the country said in a statement.
During the reporting period, exports almost completely fell to Russia (5,282 tons), 30 tons were taken to Ukraine, and 6 tons to Armenia.