This season's kaki production in Georgia has yet to be estimated, but based on October's results, it is already clear that it will be much better than last year's. Growers of Western Georgia have noticed a significant improvement in the quantity and quality of the production, while a number of producers in Eastern Georgia say that due to repeated episodes of dry weather during the season, their kakis are smaller, making the fruits unattractive to exporters.
According to the National Statistics Service, the value of kaki exports in October 2019 alone stood at $ 2.1 million in monetary terms, which exceeds the total figure for the whole of 2018 ($ 1.9 million). During the first 10 months of 2019, kaki exports worth $ 2.3 million have been made, and this figure is expected to increase further by the end of the year. After all, the bulk of the crop's production in Georgia is harvested between the second half of October and the second half of November.
According to Nodar Khokhashvili, head of the Department of Agriculture of the Food and Rural Development Department of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia, kaki exports have increased both in terms of value and volume. For the whole of 2018, 4,081 tons of kakis were exported from Georgia, and during the first 10 months of this year, this figure has already reached 4,591 tons.
According to the Ministry, the total kaki production in 2018 amounted to about 10 thousand tons. Of that volume, about 4 thousand tons were exported, and out of the remaining 6 thousand tons, a part was sold on the domestic market and another part was processed into dried fruits.
