Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

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The coordination center for the Grape Harvest 2022 opens in the city of Telavi

From August 24 2022, the grape harvest coordination centre ( a headquarter) will operate 24 hours a day in the city of Telavi, which
will coordinate activities for conducting the grape harvest in an organized manner,  ensuring accountability and traceability in the grape harvesting and reception process. The grapes will be registered in a unified electronic system. The aforementioned system was introduced by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture in 2013 and is running effectively thereafter.

The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Mr. Otar Shamugia, representatives of the National Wine Agency, local authorities and wine-producing companies attended the opening of the headquarter.

"One of the main priorities of our government is the development of viticulture and winemaking field. Over the years, we have been implementing a consistent policy and have seen successful results. The grape production and exports are increasing and we must maintain this dynamic. This year we are expecting up to 300 thousand tonnes of industrially processed grapes. The state has created all preconditions for conducting the grape harvest successfully. The government has made a decision to subsidize the grape harvest to maintain the positive dynamics of the development of the wine industry," Mr. Otar Shamugia said.

The Chairman of the National Wine Agency, Mr.  Levan Mekhuzla spoke about the grape harvest-related organizational and technical issues. In accordance with the decision of the government of Georgia, the wine company will receive a subsidy during the 2022 harvest if it purchases and processes at least 100 tonnes of Rkatsiteli or Kakhuri green grapes grown in the Kakheti region and if the company pays at least 0.90 GEL per kg of grapes purchased. Wine companies receive a subsidy of 0.35 GEL per kg of Rkatsiteli and Kakhuri greens. This year, about 300 wineries will be involved in grape harvesting, storing and handling activities 


During the meeting, Mr. Shamugia spoke about the importance of wine quality and noted that ripe and quality grapes should be picked and delivered to the factories. The Quality of grapes determines the quality of wine and subsequently its competitiveness, which ultimately affects the price and export figures. The Minister paid attention to the promotion campaign of Georgian wine and stated that more resources will be spent in the coming years to get better results regarding the sale of grapes.
As stated by Mr. Leri Barnabishvili, Head of the Regional Liaison Department of the Government Administration, the Government of Georgia has allocated GEL 150 million to subsidize the 2022 grape harvest.

Minister Shamugia met with the winegrowers and visited several wine factories in the Kakheti region.

The grape grower Durmishkhan Beruashvili has planted Saferavi, Kisi and Khikhvi grapes on 1.5 hectares of agricultural land area in the village of Ruispiri, Telavi municipality. The winegrower will deliver the part of his crop harvest to the wine factory, and the remained part of grapes he will crush himself. According to him, if it were not for the subsidy, the price of the grapes would not cover the costs. The grower has been using the insurance package for years and gives advice to other growers to insure their crops. According to the local winegrowers, they are expecting a particularly good harvest this year and will start harvesting the crop as soon as the grapes are in the required ripening condition.


The hotline 15-01 of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture is available for interested parties to get information about grape harvest.