In August 2021, Georgia exported apples worth $182.1 thousand, which is more than twice as many as it exported in August in the previous two years. In total, 182 tons of apples were exported, mainly to Russia. Exporters received $640 per ton (FOB).
Despite the relatively high volume of exports in August, growers are not that satisfied with the actual demand and prices on the Russian market.
Who exported apples in August and what has changed the market expectations? The Georgian EastFruit team contacted several commercial growers in Georgia and asked for their opinion.
The harvesting of export quality grade varieties of apples in Shida Kartli, where about 80% of the Georgian apples are growth, begins at the end of August. Before that, harvesting begins in the Kvemo Kartli region due to the milder climate. There are only a few commercial apple growers in the Kvemo Kartli region. Growers in the region confirm that they exported early varieties such as Gala in mid-August.
Read also: First harvest of pistachios from a commercial orchard is expected in Eastern Georgia
Kote Kvernadze is one of those who sold the Gala variety in August. Kvernadze owns 40 hectares of apple orchards in Sartichala, Kvemo Kartli. He sold 120 tons of Gala last month.
“We do not export directly. We sell from the farm to any trader. In August, we sold 120 tons of Gala, most likely for exports, since this volume cannot be sold in a short time on the local market. We got 1.5 GEL/kg ($0.48 per kg) then, but now the prices have decreased, and we are receiving 1.2 GEL/kg ($0.39 per kg) for other varieties,” Kvernadze said.
Simon Khojevanishvili, an apple grower from the Shida Kartli region, believes that the demand for Georgian apples could have been higher in early August, as harvesting had not yet started in Russia, where apple harvests are good this season.
Gala was harvested at the end of August and sold at the local market at 1.2 GEL/kg. Demand from Russia this year is lower than last year, because, as far as I know, Russia has a good apple harvest this year.” Khodjevanishvili said.
Apparently, the growth of exports in August does not allow drawing general conclusions about the current season. It will be possible to estimate export demand only by analyzing exports statistics for the coming months.
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.
