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Otar Shamugia: "Our main promise was fulfilled - the grape harvest was conducted in an organized manner, the winegrowers ensured post-harvest handling and storage of their grapes and received income"
" The grape harvest has come to an end in the Kakheti and Racha regions. Currently, the peak season is underway in Lechkhumi. The harvesting process will be completed in a few days. Our main promise was fulfilled - the grape harvest was conducted in an organized manner, the winegrowers ensured post-harvest handling and storage of their crop and received income", said the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mr. Otar Shamugia, at the end of the government session.
As stated by the Minister, the harvest was conducted in an organized manner; more than 21 thousand winegrowers received an income of GEL 250 million in the Kakheti region. Furthermore, winegrowers in the Racha region received revenue of GEL 11 million. In total, the state support amounted to approximately GEL 100 million, which was provided under the decision of the Government of Georgia, within the framework of the grape harvest subsidy program.
"I would like to take an opportunity and thank each grape grower who worked hard to get the yield. Also, I would like to thank the agencies involved in the harvesting process - the National Wine Agency, as well as the local authorities, who supported and enabled our winegrowers to deliver their grapes to the companies in an organized, successful manner, without delay. Another important factor that should be mentioned is that we have kept our promise and managed to increase the involvement of the private sector to the greatest extent possible and this is the result of the measures and initiatives we have implemented. Moreover, the private sector received almost 100% of the grape harvest in the Racha region, while more than 75% of the grapes were received by private companies in the Kakheti region. This is a healthy process. However, the state should be less involved in the aforementioned process and the private sector should receive, process grapes, and produce wine.
Definitely, we promote the growth of wine exports, support diversifying markets, and spend millions of GEL to increase the popularity of our wine in priority markets. We will continue this process next year as well, and we will use more resources to present our Georgian wine in more markets," Mr. Otar Shamugia stated.Â