Levan Divitashvili: It' a Chance for Food Sector to Increase Production and Employment

Coronavirus creates a new reality for food producers. The Minister of Environment and Agriculture believes that the sector can become one of the most important employers because the functioning of the sector is vital.

According to Levan Davitashvili, even the replacement of Georgian products with imports will help the state even more.

"The focus will be on supporting less competitive production because the economic environment in the world has changed. A few days ago, a study and analysis by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was published. The United Nations has called on certain countries not to impose trade restrictions in order to maintain the continuity of the food chain. In the current situation, we cannot wait for the good will of different countries. Although Georgia's policy is liberal and open to market regimes, we care about the development of our production. As a result of recent projects, many Georgian products have appeared on the shelves.

Productions that may be uncompetitive in free mode, such as the Agari Sugar Factory, under certain promotion conditions - these will be preferential transport modes or credit mechanisms, will be able to restore or start production. The same can be said for the production of primary food products, such as pasta, which in competitive free market conditions may not be competitive.

The functioning of this sector is vital. We will support such production. I hope that Georgian products will often replace imports, ”Davitashvili said.