Georgia sells almost the entire harvest of tangerines and blueberries in Russia, but silently

For January-September of this year from Georgia exported $5.4 million worth of tangerines (the figure for the same period last year was only $1.1 million). Moreover, $ 4.85 million of the total proceeds fell on Russia, that is, 86% of Georgian tangerines were sold on the Russian market. It is noteworthy that at the same time Georgia also imported tangerines, they were imported for $ 2.93 million during the period under review, 96% of which came from Turkey.

We are still facing a shortage of cold storage facilities, meanwhile, tangerines, now costing 57 cents per kilogram, will be sold three times more expensive at the end of the season. The same can be said for grapes and other products that require refrigerators to store. Over the past 4-5 years, we have only been hearing talk about the need to develop refrigeration facilities, but this process has not yet been launched. However, there are reasons for this. The construction of such storage facilities is very expensive. And in order for the bank, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, to give someone a preferential loan, he would have to mortgage property in the amount of five times the loan amount. To illustrate this more clearly: the construction of a 100-ton storage facility will cost 200 thousand euros, and the bank will need to pledge property worth at least 1 million euros. Judge for yourself: why should an entrepreneur with such funds burden himself with a loan or apply for any other assistance?

Let's go back to citrus fruits. Representatives of official authorities everywhere say that last year by this time Georgia had sold $ 1.1 million worth of tangerines for export, and this year it has received almost five times more. However, no one even indirectly mentioned that 86% of tangerine exports are related to shipment to the Russian market. Of course, everyone is well informed about this, but they do not dare to speak out loud. For some reason, the recognition that we sell excess products in Russia is seen as a betrayal. And what do you want to do if the European and American markets do not need us at all? Try to bring Georgian citrus fruits to Europe and see how Spain, Portugal, Greece will react… They will not let them anywhere near the store shelves, they will force them to rot somewhere, they will introduce special regulations, as a result of which Georgian producers will have to face a seven-headed dragon here, beyond seven mountains. Moreover, it will not be enough just to deal with him. Everything will happen again, as in the case of Georgian honey, as we have repeatedly written about.

Let's move on to lingonberries and blueberries. During the period under review, that is, again, from January to September, Georgia exported $ 27.8 million worth of these products, and last year for the same period of time the income amounted to $ 20.5 million. So, there is a noticeable growth in this area as well. Plantations will continue to expand, as Europe has promised: grow blueberries, and we will be happy to buy them. The products are really selling well, but so far... only on the Russian market. Yes, Europe let us down and "threw" us here, and as a result, more than 90% of the blueberry harvest is now shipped again to Russia.

A remarkable detail is that it is sold more expensive on the Russian market than on the European one. Nevertheless, Europe is seriously annoyed by all this — it does not hide its dissatisfaction with the fact that we sell berries in Russia. To be honest, the interest of Russians in Georgian blueberries has come as a complete surprise to all of us. It turned out that the Russian market is ready to master it tenfold.

True, no one will mention this out loud, even farmers who expand plantations solely for the export of products to Russia. They carefully study the demand, orient themselves in the conjuncture, invest large funds, not doubting that next year the profit will increase even more. Nevertheless, all these people will probably refuse to admit that all this is happening solely thanks to the Russian market.

Did you know that our country is threatened by a rise in the price of bread, and Georgian bakers in this situation are very much counting on the Russian market. They have already appealed to the government with a request to try to keep the wholesale price for a bag of flour at a level not higher than 52 lari, because only in this case it will be possible not to increase in Georgia the price of bread. But how can the government help them? The only way is to talk to Russia, but it does not dare to do this, and it turns out that our leadership agrees that bread (and this is the main food product of our population) should go up in price, so long as the West does not shake a finger at us — why, they say, are you talking to Russia?

At the same time, Europe (along with Africa and Asia) is the largest consumer of Russian wheat, but they are silent about this, as if everything should be like this. And if we raise the same question, we will be immediately condemned. By the way, the rise in price of flour will entail an increase in prices not only for bread, but also for all fast food products.

In your opinion, when will the Georgian authorities finally understand that we need to fully master the Russian market and deepen trade relations with Russia in every possible way? And frankly, everyone has understood this for a long time, but we have not fully realized that we really have no other way? To claim for 35 years that the alleged Russian market is unstable is not even funny. Because for 35 years now we have been exporting products to this "unstable market", and, by the way, we also used to sell everything there. Georgian entrepreneurs have always sent their surplus products to Russia, where the profits came from, and nothing has changed since then.

However, the officialdom avoids openly admitting that the Georgian economy is closing in on the Russian market, because our officials are afraid of the West and the local opposition, who in this case, you can be sure, will immediately accuse the current leadership of betrayal. Although, in an adequate understanding, betrayal is just the same when additional opportunities open up for you, and you don't use them! Otherwise, what happens? It turns out that the country is being betrayed by farmers who benefit from the Russian market and peasants who enjoy benefits thanks to it, and Europe, which does not even let us close to it, is our true friend?! How long are we going to deceive ourselves and, like an ostrich, bury our heads in the sand, not noticing anything around?

Have you ever wondered why at a time when the levers of power in the country were held in the hands of most of our current opposition, they did not impose sanctions against Russia and easily put up with dependence on the Russian market? Why did Saakashvili's "beacon of democracy" fail to achieve success in the European or American direction? Yes, because where it comes to big money, there is no place for small countries. Interest in a small country manifests itself only when it is caused by its strategic position. But, you may ask, why then is the West not waging an equally fierce struggle, say, with Azerbaijan? If the 12-year stay in power of the "Georgian Dream" is criticized by Americans and Europeans, then what about the reign of Heydar Aliyev from 1993 to 2003 and Ilham Aliyev from 2003 to this day?! Can this be considered a manifestation of democracy? Everyone understands perfectly well what is really going on, but for Turkey is Azerbaijan, and besides, Azerbaijan does not have access to the Black Sea and the same convenient border with Russia as ours. That is why Georgia is being imposed the prospect of joining NATO and The European Union, but they don't even mention it to Azerbaijan. Why is Ilham Aliyev not asked to send Azerbaijani soldiers to participate in NATO programs and exercises? Because the West doesn't need it, but Georgia does…

Since we are talking about neighbors, let's turn to the example of Armenia. What did Nikol Pashinyan, supported by the West, bring to the country? The war, and, most importantly, the lost war, as, incidentally, was the case with Mikhail Saakashvili. But the West, as usual, washes its hands: they say, we have nothing to do with it, but Pashinyan continues to slavishly obey and serve him, because he has no other way out. As he did not have it and Misha Saakashvili, who, however, was allowed to do a lot in return. It's just that, unlike Saakashvili, Pashinyan does not dare to go out of bounds, and his police do not shoot innocent people in the streets.

Spring will come again, we will have an excess of fruits again, even more citrus and blueberries will be harvested. And the Georgian peasant will again turn towards the Russian market, will successfully sell his products on it and will be very pleased with it. But if we do not learn to talk openly and honestly about all this, this attitude towards our partners will not benefit us. Let's call a spade a spade! It is clear that Europe will try to punish us for this, but what can you do?! As they say, where it is thin, it breaks, moreover, it has already broken. And in general, it's safer to deal with a broken one than with a glued one.

Beso Barbakadze, "Georgia and the World"