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Grape vintage 2020 coordination task-force opened in Telavi
The Minister of Environment Protection and Agricultureof Georgia, Mr Levan Davitashvili, opened the grape vintage 2020 coordination task-force in Telavi."Similarly to previous years, harvest of this year is focused on protecting the interests of viticultur farmers and rewarding their work. With the growth of the crop, the challenges increase, while up to 300 thousand tons of grapes should be realized. Vintage 2020 will be successful because the state has created all the prerequisites for it. The coronavirus pandemic has posed new challenges to the wine industry. The government has decided to subsidize the vintage from the budget. We will assist the farmers with a subsidy, otherwise the price of grapes will be minimal. We have organized all the events so that the farmers can accommodate the harvest without any delays, ”said Levan Davitashvili.
As Minister Davitashvili stated, preparations for the vintage have been coordinated with the wine companies throughout the year. Through preferential agro-credit, all enterprises were given the opportunity to modernize.
The Chairman of the National Wine Agency, Mr Levan Mekhuzla, spoke about the organizational and technical issues of the vintage. According to the government's decision, the subsidy will be given only to the wine companies that will purchase and process at least 1000 tons of Rkatsiteli or Kakhetian green grapes grown in Kakheti region during the 2020 vintage. At the same time, in exchange for the purchased 1 kg of grapes, buyer will pay not less than 0.80 GEL. In exchange for the purchase of 1 kg of grapes grown by a viticulturist in the Kakheti region, subsidies will be issued to wine companies: 1 kg for Rkatsiteli - 0.30 GEL; 1 kg for Kakhetian greens - 0.30 GEL;
Ms Khatia Tsilosani, Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture, and Mr Irakli Shioshvili, Acting State Representative of Kakheti, and representatives of wine companies attended the event.