According to the local producers surveyed by EastFruit, 1500-2000 tons of blueberries will be harvested in Georgia this season. Based on the portal, at the beginning of the 2021 season, Georgian blueberries were sold for 30 GEL ($ 9.5), and at the end of the season, their price dropped to GEL 10 ($ 3.2). The prices for this season have not been set yet.

The producers are confident that Russia will remain a major buyer this season, despite the fact that the new British Products Trade Association has recently become interested in Georgian blueberries and has dedicated an article to some of the largest blueberry companies in Georgia.

Additionally, in April, as part of the state export assistance program Enterprise Georgia, a meeting was held between the Georgian blueberry producers and the British buyers, with the aim of promoting the Georgian blueberries in the European markets. The export potential of the Georgian blueberries in Great Britain was discussed at the meeting.

Baia Salukvadze, the co-founder of the Georgian blueberry company Blue Bird, told EastFruit that at the meeting, the local producers received information on the export conditions in the UK, including the certification and packaging standards. She said it was an introductory meeting that ended without any concrete result for the local producers at this stage.

Blue Bird considers the British market for the Georgian blueberries currently less realistic and cites difficult logistics and delivery issues as the reason. At the same time, according to Baia Salukvadze, in order to enter the UK market, Georgian producers need to set not only certification, quality and packaging, but also competitive price standards, and the price of blueberries in the Russian market is higher than in Europe.

As EastFruit notes, the local producers are already in talks with the Russian buyers. They suggest that the season will continue as usual and most of the Georgian blueberries will still be sold in the Russian market.