100 Million is Allocated in Budget for Wine Sector - Levan Davitashvili

"We allocated 100 million GEL in the budget, which is quite a large number, however, it is necessary to maintain the stability and development prospects of the wine sector.", noted Levan Davitashvili, the Minister of Agriculture. 

"We expect a good quality harvest this year. The quantity is also increased. Due to the pandemic, there is an imbalance between raw materials and requirements of private companies, and not only Georgia. Despite this fact, we have an increase in exports and we expect further data improvements this year. However, we planned a 15-20% increase in exports, while the real growth is in the range of 7-8%, which is not enough. As a result, the state intervenes in prices to make farmers' wages adequate and maintain motivation for them to continue operating in the following years.

This year, 300,000 tons of grapes are expected to be processed industrially. This will be another record in terms of independence, but due to the fact that we need to increase export, which we presented in the 10-year plan, it is necessary to increase raw material base and continue vineyards' cultivation in the country. 

It is our responsible decision to intervene this year as well, to balance, to alleviate the results of Covid, both for the viticulturists and the wineries, in order to maintain the stable development of the field for the coming years.

We had communication with nearly every farmer. Since 2014, we have introduced a passport system to them. This is the most important element of Georgian wine quality control. This year, the whole region of Kakheti and Racha-Lechkhumi will be covered with electronic passports, which means that we will have accurate data on the situation in each vineyard and, therefore, we will have full information on yield to ensure the traceability of Georgian wine, which further leads to reliability. I am sure this year's vintage will be well organized. I would like to thank the employees of the Ministry - we did not stop the working process during the pandemic.

If any farmer will not be able to register, they will have that alternative even during the harvest. I call on our viticulturists to simplify the process, to have no delays, to minimize queues, and to pre-register their vineyards in advance, which is possible in Kakheti and Racha-Lechkhumi regions.", noted Levan Davitashvili.