“800 tons of blueberries will be sent from Georgia to the European Union,” - the Georgian Blueberry Growers' Association (GBGA) stated. The agreement on the export of Georgian blueberries to the European Union was reached at the Fruit Attraction 2023 held in Madrid last week.
The memorandum between the Association and the German side was signed within the USAID agriculture program. With the help of the USAID Agriculture Program, a trial batch of blueberries was brought to Germany at the beginning of this year and sold in a supermarket chain.
According to the data of the Georgian Cold Storage and Logistics Association, 118 cold storage warehouses [including 35 with the support of the USAID Agriculture Program] operate in Georgia. Up to 15 cold storage facilities in West Georgia focus on blueberries. Their total capacity is about 3500 tons per season.
Last season, the Association took measures to ensure efficient transportation to minimize travel time and reach the destination in a maximum of 6 days. Thanks to efficient transportation and high-quality products, exports can reach 70 tons per week.
It should be noted that Georgian blueberries (94%) are mainly exported to Russia, which has the lowest growth rate among leading importing countries. There are two reasons for this: it is under severe sanctions due to the war with Ukraine, and secondly, Russia has an extremely volatile market in general.
Therefore, diversification of export markets will allow manufacturers to ensure business stability and sustainable profits.
According to the data published by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (GEOSTAT), from January to August 2023, Georgia exported about 3,270 tons of blueberries, which is 2.4 times higher than the previous record set in 2022. Blueberry exports will generate nearly $20 million in 2023, driven by increased production and export volumes.
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