New challenges for the hazelnut sector in Georgia

According to the head of the Hazelnut Producers Association, Levan Kardava, the price of hazelnuts has fallen to 4-5 lari ($1.4-1.7) and no price increase is expected in the near future. In an interview with bm.ge, Kardava said that the price settled at this level due to the strengthening of the lari against the dollar and the Turkish lira, as well as due to a drop in demand in Europe and the region, which created the prerequisites for relatively high stocks of Georgian walnuts left over from the previous season. . According to various estimates, Georgian farmers still store between 7,000 and 12,000 tons of hazelnuts. Although, if no orders were received in February-March, then in April-May, Georgian processors perked up a little and began to gradually accept hazelnuts for processing. But both producers and processors believe that about 10% of the 2020/21 crop (5-6 thousand tons) will still remain in the hands of farmers and will be sold with a new walnut crop. “The low price of ...