Tea Plantations Rehabilitated in Samegrelo Region with the Support of TBC Bank
The first tea bush in Georgia appeared in Guria Principality at the beginning of the 19th century. This culture penetrated various corners of the Black Sea coastline in stages. In a century, tea plantations covered the greater part of lands in western Georgia. After the Soviet Union collapse, the space of tea plantations decreased, however, some companies have managed to maintain tea culture in the country. Lazi Georgian Tea Company is one of the similar enterprises that own tea plantations on 350 hectares in Tsalenjikha District.
The company has rehabilitated part of the plantations with the support of TBC Bank. LAZI Company successfully operates on exports markets and exports 80% of domestic tea to China and 20% to Central Asia countries.
The years of 2017-2018 turned out a decisive period for the company development, when Chinese investors showed interest in the plantations. It turned out that the tea variety that grows in Tsalenjikha has almost disappeared in China. High-quality Georgian tea found a good exports space in China. Together with Chinese partners, Lazi opened training centers for local residents to train them in use of machineries and various technologies. Picking tea in Tsalenjikha starts in April and ends in August. In this period, local residents pick tea by hand and they also use machines, depending on what quality tea they want to receive. First tea leaves of the season is picked by hand to produce expensive products, while machines are used for the next phases. In midsummer tea is picked by hand again and at the end of the picking season, farmers use machines again.
“Tea is one of the stable plants and its production comprises fewer risks. Weather volatility and seasonal factors affect tea culture unimportantly. Therefore, it is foreseeable and reliable culture. Georgia produces high-quality green tea, particularly. The greater part of tea grown in Georgia are of Chinese origin, while 20% were delivered from Japan or bred domestically” Goneri Salia, Lazi Company founder noted.
Today, tea plantations in Georgia cover 8,000 hectares, however, only 50% is picked and another 50% required rehabilitation. The country genuinely has good prospects to acquire many strong tea production companies. We should just be consecutive and in 2-3 years tea bring real results.