The long-awaited first pistachio crop in Georgia will be harvested this year and farmers have no doubt that the country may soon become an exporter of this crop, as stated by Otar Anguridze, the vice-president of the Pistachio Association, to Business-Partner. Mr Anguridze says the association began to pay special attention to pistachio cultivation in Georgia relatively recently, but the area of pistachio plantations has already grown to 100 hectares. Originally, farmers were in no hurry to grow pistachio orchards because of their late entry into full fruiting.
“According to the information of our association, this year it is planned to lay pistachio orchards on several dozen hectares. Initially, this is an encouraging indicator. Georgia has not yet received a massive harvest of pistachios. It takes about 6-7 years from planting to get the first fruits,” said Otar Anguridze. When the pistachios planted earlier in the household plots bore fruit and justified themselves, this gave an incentive to farmers.
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The demand for pistachios on the world market is growing, which, of course, causes an increase in prices for these products. “Pistachios are a rather expensive product on the world market and is used for many purposes. If we can grow high-quality pistachios, we have real preconditions for which our pistachios will take worthy positions in the world market,” the vice-president of the Pistachio Association is convinced.
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Pistachios grown in Georgia are also predicted to have a good position in the market by Georgian scientists. For example, Dr Zviad Bobokashvili, an associate professor and Doctor of Agricultural Sciences and also Head of the Fruit Crops Research Department of the Research Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, confirmed to EastFruit that the first pistachio crops will be harvested in Georgia this year. He noted: “Unfortunately, the first harvest of pistachios have to wait a long time since this culture enters the full fruiting period rather late. It is unprofitable for farmers to engage in a perennial crop, which does not immediately pay off. However, the approach to this culture is changing; more and more areas are being allocated for pistachio orchards.”
Also, Dr Bobokashvili emphasized: “Pistachio orchards have been planted in the Sagarejoi municipality of the Kakheti region in Eastern Georgia. Wild pistachios (dull-leaved and also known as kevo trees) grows in parts in the Vashlovani reserve and the area along the entire length of this reserve to the Dedoplistskaroi municipality (Kakheti region), which is suitable for cultivation, or rather a revival of this culture, and is valuable in many respects. Since pistachios are one of the ancient cultures for Georgia, I would like to think that Georgian agrarians and scientists will make every effort to revive and spread it.”
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