Georgia wants to compete with Greece in the production of olives and olive oil

Georgia can become one of the world's recognized olive producers, believes Giorgi Svanidze, honorary president of the International Olive Council. Georgia is a small country, a former Soviet republic. "We surprised olive fans all over the world - we discovered such new aromas in Georgian olives that did not exist in any other country before," Svanidze told Georgian radio "Palitra". According to him, over the last ten years more than a million olive trees have been planted in Georgia. The first seedlings are from Turkey, a batch was brought from the Gardens of Gethsemane (Israel), now they are imported from Spain and Morocco, and the production of local seedlings has already started. In Georgia, olive seedlings take root best in the regions of Kakheti and Imereti. Furthermore, olives differ in taste and aroma even when compared between these two regions. Svanidze also claims that Georgian olive oil obtained ...