"Imereti Is One of Georgia's Leading Agri-Food Production Regions" – David Songulashvili

As part of his visit to the Imereti region, Georgia's Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture David Songulashvili visited New Zekari LLC, an enterprise established in the Baghdati Municipality with the support of the Rural Development Agency.

The Minister inspected the company's infrastructure, including its winemaking, fruit processing, and laurel processing operations, as well as its modern production capabilities.

"Imereti is one of the country's outstanding regions for agri-food production, where high-quality Georgian products are created. That is why it is particularly important to see firsthand the processes and the people who form the foundation of this success," said David Songulashvili.

New Zekari LLC operates in the fields of winemaking, fruit processing, and laurel production. The enterprise has an annual production capacity of 200 tons of laurel, 30 tons of fruit products, and 10,000 bottles of wine. Its products are sold both on the domestic market and exported to China. The company employs 8–10 people on a permanent basis.

New Zekari LLC is a beneficiary of the Rural Development Agency. In 2022–2023, the company benefited from the Agency's Preferential Agrocredit Project to construct a fruit processing facility. In 2024, the company's co-financing received under the Agency's Technical Assistance Program amounted to GEL 11,500.

During the visit, Minister David Songulashvili was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Giorgi Tskrialashvili; Member of the Parliament of Georgia and delegate representing the municipalities of Tkibuli, Terjola, Zestafoni, and Baghdati, Zviad Shalamberidze; Director of the Rural Development Agency Zurab Gozalishvili; Head of the National Food Agency Giorgi Iakobashvili; and representatives of local authorities.