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Otar Shamugia: " Selling locally produced wheat and barley on the domestic market is crucial"
"Considering current situation in the region, it is important to sell locally produced wheat and barley only on the domestic market to ensure food security in the country," said Mr. Otar Shamugia, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.
As stated by the Minister, despite the fact that Georgia is entirely dependent on wheat imports (importing 500 thousand tonnes per year) and can not facilitate exports due to its small domestic production, the current situation poses a risk of exporting a certain amount of wheat from the country.
As for barley, Georgian barley is exported to Iraq and Iran. Moreover, the barley grain for feeding livestock, poultry and pigs should be sold only on the domestic market.
In 2022, Georgia expects to harvest about 60 thousand tonnes of barley. As of today, more than 2.5 thousand tonnes have already been exported.
 "Taking into account all of the aforementioned, the government of Georgia has decided to ban the export of wheat and barley from the country from July 4 of this year to July 4, 2023. At this stage, restrictions do not apply to corn exports.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture held a number of meetings with wheat and barley producers and paid attention to their views and opinions. The producers pointed out, that local market will fully absorb the harvest produced in the country due to the existing demand, "- said Mr. Shamugia.