Beka Gonashvili: Exports are Worsening; Thousands of Sheep Remain Unsold

Sheep exports are worsening and thousands of sheep remain unsold, Beka Gonashvili, head of the Association of Shepherds and representative of Agroqiziki company, noted.

"At this stage, 30-40 thousand sheep remain unsold in Georgia, while in November 2019 around 240,000 sheep had been sold. The unsold sheep will create problems because we do not have sufficient grassland for this number of sheep. The key demand is reported for rams (male sheep) and ewe (female sheep) are not sold. This signifies in 2 years the number of sheep will double”, Beka Gonashvili said.

Georgian sheep are mainly exported to Arab countries. In 2020, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan were key export markets. On the whole, we exported sheep for $4.5 million to Saudi Arabia in January-September, up 36% compared to January-September 2019.

"We have problems with transportation too. Now Qatar Airways have resumed operation and the process goes easier. I personally have received an order to supply 10,000 sheep to Saudi Arabia. I hope the process will be continued and all sheep will be sold out”, Beka Gonashvili said.