Geguti is one of the largest exporters of herbs, which in 2016 exported a total of 200 tons of herbs to Ukraine, Moldova, Poland and the Baltic states.

As Mamuka Tsikoridze, the co-founder of the company, told bm.ge, the Russian-Ukrainian war created problems for the sale of the Georgian herbs.

According to him, it is not possible to import herbs to Ukraine at the moment, and in addition to these two markets, it is challenging to sell the product in other countries due to the war.

"The period of herb crop is over at the end of April. Geguti harvested about 400 tons. As for sales, due to the war, it became difficult to export herbs, in particular, the price began to decline. Access to other countries was also delayed. Georgian herbs have been struggling to compete with Iran, and now that the key markets have been restricted and the competition has increased more.

As for the market diversification, we are considering increasing the export share of the Polish market. Russia and Ukraine are the most lucrative markets in terms of selling herbs, as they consume much more here than in Europe, for example, Europe may only order one container a year with 16 tons of products. At the same time, there is a fixed price in Europe, and in these two countries we also have a choice in terms of prices. Georgia is also a small market in terms of consumption; here the quantity that is sold in the markets every day is enough,” - said Mamuka Tsikoridze.

To be informed, greenhouse and refrigeration plant - Geguti 2005 Ltd., which employs 50 people, covers a total of 3 hectares. It was established with the financial support of the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency of Georgia and the USAID Agriculture Program. The volume of investment in the construction of the farm exceeds GEL 1 million, including a preferential agro-credit of more than $ 150,000.