David Songulashvili: “Our core principle is to fully harness the potential of agricultural production, support farmers and entrepreneurs, and help them create and sell as much high-quality Georgian products as possible.”

 
Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Mr. David Songulashvili, visited the Shida Kartli region, where he met with farmers and entrepreneurs and personally observed the ongoing apple harvesting and storage process.


“Apple harvesting and storage are in full swing in the Shida Kartli region. Today, we met with farmers and entrepreneurs in Gori Municipality. It is crucial for us to ensure that the process is carried out in an organized and coordinated manner. For this purpose, a Coordinating Center has been established,” the Minister stated.

According to the Minister, Georgian apples are successfully marketed both domestically and internationally. It is essential that not a single kilogram of produce goes to waste. The state program supporting the selling of non-standard apples is fully operational, enabling the processing of surplus and lower-grade fruit into apple concentrate — a high-value export product that generates direct economic benefits for the country.

“Our core principle is to fully harness the agricultural production potential we have, support farmers and entrepreneurs in producing and marketing as much high-quality Georgian produce as possible. This is the foundation of a strong economy and, consequently, the well-being of our citizens. Starting January 1, the Rural Development Agency’s state programs will be presented in a renewed format. Our visits to the regions are aimed at understanding the real needs of farmers — and these needs will shape the design of new programs, all of which will ultimately support the production of quality Georgian goods,” said Minister Songulashvili.

During his visit to Gori, the Minister received detailed information at the Coordinating Center on the progress of apple harvesting and storage.

The Minister also visited the apple orchards of ‘’Tiriponi Gardens’’, the cold storage facility operated by ‘’Tiriponi Fruits’’, and the processing plant of Geo Concentrate, where he observed the apple processing workflow on-site.