The Walnut and Almond Growers Association of Georgia interviewed 180 farmers who harvested about 1,300 tons of almonds and 2,000 tons of walnuts (Chandler) from commercial orchards in 2022/23.
According to the survey, in 2023, farmers expect to harvest 2,000 tons of whole almonds and 3,000 tons of whole walnuts. In 2023, the estimated harvest of walnuts will be about 8,600 tons.
The demand and consumption of almonds in the Georgian market are low, which requires the search for new markets, – said Tornike Latatia, director of the Almond and Walnut Producers Association of Georgia, during a visit to the Business Morning program, EastFruit reports.
“Imports of almonds will lose their meaning from next year. The problem last year was the lack of processing capacity, so it wasn’t easy to deal with the logistics process, but this year it is planned to build at least two factories that will export almonds. The interest in our almonds from the Persian Gulf countries is quite large, and they offer us an attractive price. In addition, the factory also supplies crushed almonds to the market, which will completely replace imports,” he added.
According to EastFruit analysts, from May 2022 to April 2023, Georgia imported more than 1.3 thousand tons of almond kernels, 97% more than in the same period a year earlier, and 245 tons of in-shell almonds. The leading supplier of imported almonds to the Georgian market is still the United States (65%), but it is also worth noting the increase in supplies from Turkey (26%).
In addition, Tornike Latatia spoke about the export of walnuts and noted that it would take 2-3 years to develop exports. “Demand for walnuts in the existing market is very high. The country will take 2-3 years to fill imports and fully export the product. Last year, about 2,000 tons of walnuts were imported, so I think next year’s production will not be able to cover imports completely,” he says.
According to EastFruit analysts, imports of walnut kernels for the year (May 22-April 23) more than doubled and amounted to 1850 tons from Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. And Georgia was importing the in-shell walnut – 350 tons from Turkey and Chile.
Read also: Turkish hazelnut market is in a hard situation given economic troubles and increased competition
The director of the Association of Almond and Walnut Producers also spoke about the profitability of the walnut and almond industry. “The sector is developing steadily; almonds and walnuts became relevant in Georgia 7-8 years ago. There were many problems in the process, but last year showed us that the investments made in this industry gave us actual figures in terms of harvest. The main problem in the industry was the lack of agronomic knowledge, and now this difficulty has been overcome, and farmers have already learned how to care for the plantations.”
He also noted that Georgia’s walnut and almond industry has excellent potential. The most significant indicator of this is the influx of international investment. American investments, German-Swiss, Spanish, etc., he explained. Speaking about international investments, Tornike Latatia notes that the association plans to attract American and Spanish agronomists.
“We work a lot in the association; we want to bring American and Spanish agronomists and conduct training throughout the year; this year, we have already held 5-6 training, where we share the international experience. At training, we share the recommendations of foreign agronomists and experience gained on the ground, which significantly reduces the risk of mistakes,” he says.
In addition, the Almond and Walnut Growers Association is expecting its first commercial harvest this year. “Our product has aroused great interest, this year we are harvesting a marketable crop and, for the first time exporting it to the Persian Gulf countries, Switzerland, Germany, etc. We want our product to be everywhere,” Latatia said.
The use of the site materials is free if there is a direct and open for search engines hyperlink to a specific publication of the East-Fruit.com website.
