Georgia is being forced to trade on the unprofitable European market — Gabashvili

Back at the end of 2014, it was predicted that very soon the largest and most serious problem in the world would arise in the food market, because as the already huge population of the planet grows, food products will become less affordable. Simply put, there should not have been enough food for everyone soon, and now we see with our own eyes how food prices are really growing almost daily. And Georgia, alas, is among the world leaders in this regard.

Yes, Georgia is one of the European countries where food is very expensive, and despite the fact that our standard of living is not even close to the European one, food prices here have literally skyrocketed. By the way, it is very remarkable that after 2014 Russia decided to shift its focus to the development of agriculture, which allowed it to achieve results that no one, apparently, even imagined. It was the huge investments in agriculture that brought the Russian economy to a new level and, most importantly, contributed to its advancement in the most unexpected direction for many. If the Europeans somehow still manage to do without cheap Russian oil and gas, then it is very difficult for them to remain without food, despite the boycott, they are forced to maintain trade relations with Russia.

In Georgia, there are all the prerequisites for intensive development of agriculture, which would be extremely useful for the country, but it seems that someone either consciously and intentionally slows down this process, or extremely incompetent people have been engaged in this responsible area for decades.

Last week, guests from France and Germany, who are in our country, visited various regions of Georgia accompanied by a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Agriculture. Meetings were held with the population, while the responsible employee of the Ministry of Agriculture persistently convinced local businessmen: invest money in the construction of refrigerators for storing fruit, and you will be able to make a huge profit from this, because the future of the industry is precisely for refrigeration farms.

The opinion, which, we note, is not so far from the truth, since it is enough to look, for example, at our neighbor Armenia (not to mention Turkey) to understand that its experience in this direction is quite suitable for us. Yes, we managed to create a very large refrigeration facility in Armenia, and now we import apricots and grapes from there in winter, and we buy them at a fabulous price. A product that costs a penny in the season becomes worth its weight in gold by winter, and... it still sells. It is sold because a person is usually able to deny himself a lot, but not in food.

As for the proposal put forward by foreign guests, then, at first glance, it may seem very profitable. The Europeans expressed their readiness to assist our businessmen in the construction of refrigerators, in equipping them with French or German equipment, to train local personnel who will be employed at refrigeration facilities for free, to provide access to innovations, if necessary, to come to the place to ensure the proper operation of all units. But the main thing is that they announced their intention to completely buy up the products that will be stored in these refrigerators in winter or in the appropriate season. That is, it turned out that it was only about money, and then the French and Germans promised to build refrigerators, prepare people, and buy products.

Georgian businessmen, frankly speaking, not accustomed to such generosity on the part of Western partners, decided to specify the details and figure out what the catch is. At the same time, the Georgian side turned out to be so "petty" that it also inquired about the prices of specific products, and one of the businessmen asked a deadly question for European partners: are the Germans and French ready to pay more for products than they pay on the Russian market? Then, for greater clarity, we offer a recording of fragments of a conversation between foreigners and Georgians in dialogue mode:

— To begin with, the Russian market is unstable, Russia will lose the war and it will not be at all. Naturally, we will not pay you more or even as much as they pay in the Russian market now, but you should understand that our market is stable and constant…

— We have been hearing warnings for 30 years that the Russian market is unstable, nevertheless, it has been working better than others for all these 30 years. And even military experts are not able to predict the fate of the war, so how do you, specialists in "haladelniki", know about it?!

— Well, let's say Russia won't lose the war, but their market will still remain unstable, so it's better for you to receive less from us, but constantly, than to know that one day you can completely lose the sales market... And in general, why don't these people want to obey us, why don't they agree to the conditions we offer?!

The last phrase, as you understand, was already addressed to our high-ranking official. That is, the Europeans did not even consider it necessary to hide their surprise that local businesses dare to object to the bonded conditions they offer. This question asked aloud so outraged Georgian entrepreneurs that it almost came to a physical collision. The tradition of hospitality absorbed into the genes helped to avoid it, and so everyone agreed that such insolence was punishable. A high-ranking Georgian official from the ministry even had to justify himself: they say, you are very mistaken if you think that communication with these people gives me pleasure.

As an example, one of the businessmen told how he was offered the price of black currant in Germany, which was $ 1.50 lower per kilogram than in the Russian market. What do you think the German answered him to this? But, they say, next year you may not sell anything there, but you can easily sell everything here again… We have been hearing this "you can not sell" for more than 30 years, and it is not difficult to imagine at least approximately what position we would be in now if it were not for the alternative Russian market?! What kind of argument is this — "sell me cheap, because I will buy all the time"?! Have we ever had trading failures? The only thing someone will want to recall is the period when Irakli Okruashvili provocatively stated that in Russia can even sell feces, thereby angering its northern neighbor very much.

However, Okruashvili is also responsible for a more serious crime — the liquidation of the Ergnet fair, where Georgians, Ossetians and Russians traded side by side, maintaining daily contacts, trusting each other more and more, establishing good personal relations. We do not cease to assert that if this trading platform had not been destroyed, the August 2008 war would not have happened. Because trade and business contacts make it possible to clarify the position, find out who is striving for what, thereby preventing violence. I'm sure neither side would shoot at the other, however… There are still people who believe that the liquidation of the market in Ergneti was an initiative of Okruashvili, although most citizens have long had no shadow of doubt that the decision was actually dictated by the American embassy in Georgia. Well, for what purpose it did this, it became obvious later.

Now the West is trying to enslave local businesses, at least impose 10-year obligations on Georgia, and then demand their unconditional fulfillment. How can you insist that the product, they say, should be sold only to me, while I will pay little, but demand complete submission?! Attempts by the West to crush Georgia's economy are nothing new to anyone. We cannot get rid of the status of a developing country, as a result of which we cannot establish any production that would become our brand not only in Europe, but also in the world. In the end, it was none other than the West that achieved the depreciation of Georgian wine and Georgian mineral waters abroad. They did not argue and do not argue that our wines are very good, they willingly awarded them gold medals at international festivals, but as soon as it came to European shelves, it immediately turned out that our wine, even with gold awards, would not be welcome on European shelves. The same thing happened with mineral waters, then with Georgian honey. Actually, Georgian products are represented in Europe, but in extremely limited quantities. It's like a traditional appetizer of phali on a festive Georgian table — it is its invariable attribute, which no one, however, pays attention to. Any European country sells less Georgian wines and mineral waters in a year than a large supermarket in Moscow or St. Petersburg in a month. At the same time, they try to convince us that the local market is unstable, and therefore, they say, do not be capricious and sell everything to us cheaper.

Before the elections, even the opposition had to change its tone, starting to say that the Russian market is important for Georgia. Opponents of the authorities are well aware that it is too losing to campaign against the Russian market during the pre-election period, and therefore they radically changed their rhetoric. However, you can be sure: as soon as the elections are over, in order to please the West, they will again insist that the Russian market is too bad.

Unfortunately, our government also does not make full-fledged statements (not to mention real actions) that make it clear that it is not going to abandon the Russian market in favor of the European one. Moreover, many of our responsible managers repeat after their Western partners that the Russian market is unstable, and then they themselves, with a joyful face on their face, inform us that all the crop surpluses have been successfully and fully realized. At the same time, of course, they keep silent that it was the "unstable" Russian market that mastered them.

Levan Gabashvili, "Georgia and the World"