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Otar Shamugia met with the hazelnut farmers in the Samegrelo region.
The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mr. Otar Shamugia, got familiar with the work process at the "Geonuts" hazelnut company in the Zugdidi Municipality and met with the Hazelnut Processors and Exporters Association members.
"During the meeting, we received thorough information about the current harvest, also handling/storing of hazelnut crop in the Samegrelo region.
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These meetings persuaded us once more that the targeted assistance provided by the state to small farmers to grow gardens and improve harvests proved to be effective. They had a better yield this year than the previous year, statistically and qualitatively. Once again, we urge all farmers to take care of their gardens and follow the measures and suggestions outlined in the applicable age calendar. e This is directly proportionate to a higher quantitative and quality harvest, a higher price, and, of course, a higher income for each farmer", said Mr Otar Shamugia.
According to Levan Kardava, Director of the Association of Hazelnut Processors and Exporters, this year, some farmers mishandled their hazelnut orchards, thus impacting the quality of the hazelnuts, adding that acceptable quality hazelnuts can be found in well-kept orchards.
Unfortunately, the farmers do not properly maintain quite a large part of the hazelnut orchards, and the rains have also affected them. The price of hazelnuts depends on their quality. Today, in Samegrelo, the price starts from GEL 3 and ranges up to GEL 5," said Levan Kardava
The hazelnut processing enterprise "Geonuts" LLC was established in 2018 with the state's financial support. The modern company is annually exporting hazelnuts to EU countries. According to the company's representative, they expect to export a large part of the delivered hazelnuts to the EU market this year.