President of the Federation of Hunters and Fishermen on Growing Fish Exports
Fish exports from Georgia are growing at a record level. In particular, according to Geostat, in the first two months of this year (January-February) 120.8 tons (118.4 thousand USD) were exported from the country, while in the same period last year - 16.6 tons (110.7 thousand USD).
According to the National Statistics Office, in 2022, fresh or chilled fish were exported to Turkey (108.7 tonnes) and Azerbaijan (12.1 tonnes).
In addition, in February, live fish was exported, the volume of which amounted to 9 tons (23.1 thousand USD).
As Temur Tkemaladze, President of the Federation of Hunters and Fishermen, told Business Press News, the increase in exports was caused by the multiplication of artificial ponds and, at the same time, the promotion of the sector.
"In general, the demand for seafood in the world is growing every year. In addition, our ponds and fishing farms have been rehabilitated. In this regard, it is really welcome support from the government which has led to an increase in production. However, it should be noted that these investments are not instantaneous, it takes some time to get the final results. Fishing farms are not easy to run, they need ponds, an incubation period, then another appropriate time for the product to mature and have commodity value. Consequently, the increase in the number of ponds and the promotion of the sector has yielded results, but the production and export volumes will increase even more, ”said Temur Tkemaladze.
However, he points out that the industry still has problems, and as the president of the Federation of Hunters and Fishermen says, so far only 10% of the resources that the country actually has been used up.
"We have a lot of resources in this direction, that we still use only 10% of it. Reservoirs, where hydropower plants are built everywhere, can develop fisheries on a planned basis. Therefore, it needs a lot of support from both the government and the population.
We must say that there is still a lot to be regulated, rivers are to be protected. We have no less potential than Norway. We have the sea, and lakes and we can get the mentioned product from everywhere. I think this field will bring even better results to the country with more attention, "said Temur Tkemaladze.