In late August – early September, almond harvesting begins in Georgia. To put it mildly, this is a new export crop for Georgia. Today in Georgia, there are about 6 thousand hectares of intensive almond orchards, and the expected harvest is from 2.5 to 3 thousand tons.
Source: International Conference Nuts of Ukraine 2022: Sharing Experience with Georgia, report by Levan Kvariani, USAID
EastFruit has collected information about the largest almond producers in the country and invite you to familiarize yourself with the possibilities of Georgian producers, as well as contact them to order products.
The largest almond producer in the country, which is part of the Ajara Group. The total area of the almond orchard of the Udabno company is 2300 hectares, but these are orchards of different ages. Therefore, this year, the company plans to harvest 1,200 tons of almonds from areas already actively bearing fruit. Udabno focused on late-flowering varieties of Spanish and Italian selection – Guara, Soleta, Supernova, Lauren/Avijor variety. The management decided to switch to biological methods of almond production, and the organic certification process has already begun.
The company owns a processing plant that will clean, sort, process, and pack Borelli’s almonds. The capacity of the line will be 10 tons of almonds per hour.
Nuts Incorporated owns 3,000 hectares of orchards in Georgia, including 2,200 hectares of hazelnuts and up to 800 hectares of almonds. The company has its own storage facilities and an almond and walnut processing facility, which this season will process about 500 tons of almonds from its own orchard and other farmers. This year the company expects to harvest about 250t of inshell almonds, the first commercial crop, 80% of which is planned to be exported. The company offers the following varieties of nuts: Guara, Soleta, Supernova, Lauren variety.
3.Nuts Cultivation Company
Of the 900 hectares managed by Ashish Kapur, 160 hectares are already planted with hard-shell varieties – self-pollinating Laurann (60%), Ferragnes and Ferraduel (Ferranne’s pollinator). The company is working on organic planting certification to compete with American almonds in the EU market. Currently, 40 ha of almond plantations already have a bio-certificate, 80 ha are transitioning to organic production, and 40 ha are in conventional production. According to management, another part of the plantings will be certified in September. This year, the company plans to harvest 120 tons of unshelled almonds (in-shell).
4. Almond Co LLC
In 2019, the company planted 15 hectares of almond orchards in Sagarejo, in the eastern region of Georgia, and within a few years expanded the orchards to 200 hectares. The company grows the following varieties – Lauren, Ferragnes, Ferraduel and Marta. This season, already in early September, the company plans to harvest about 70 tons of almonds (inshell), which will be finalized to a high-quality kernel. According to the orchard owners, the Turkish market may be of interest to Georgian almond producers, as the Turks import almonds from the United States and there is already some experience in exporting Georgian hazelnuts to Turkey. Export to the Russian Federation is also possible. But it will be more difficult for Georgian manufacturers to penetrate the EU market due to the lack of branding.
5. Almendra и Almond tree
In 2019, the group of companies invested in the cultivation of French and Spanish varieties of almonds (Makako, Guara, Soleta, Avijor) on 150 hectares in Sagarejo, Eastern Georgia. Until 2025, the group will expand the area of the garden to 200 hectares. It is planned to start harvesting almonds in the third decade of August and until the end of September, as different varieties ripen. This season, the company will harvest about 200 tons of in-shell almonds, which will be about 60-70 tons of high-quality kernels. So far, the company sells the core on the local market, but in the future, with the growth of the harvest, it also plans to export. Certification of gardens according to GlobalG.A.P. is planned for next year
6. Almond Orchards LLC (Nushis baghebi)
The company owns 43 hectares of Super Nova and Non-Parel (American fine skin variety) in Sagarejo, Eastern Georgia. This year expects 40-50 tons of almonds (inshell). Next season, the company will have its own processing line, which is also going to be used to service other orchards. Target market is the European Union.
7. Mkisa
Mkisa grows almonds on 40 hectares in Bolnisi, Kvemo Kartli region, Eastern Georgia using super-intensive technology. According to Mkisa, this is only the first stage of the project, and the area of super-intensive almond orchards is planned to be gradually increased to 100 hectares. The company is investing in digital agriculture and the garden is fully mechanized. The company also plans to become a service provider for developing and implementing self-sustaining green energy gardens. According to the company’s management, the first commercial harvest is expected in early September on 10 hectares.
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