The peach and nectarine season is winding down in the main production region of Georgia, Kakheti. While August will still be active in peach and nectarine sales from the region, the bulk of the harvest has already been sold by the farmers. The export supporting group will continue its operations in the Kakheti region for the next few weeks. Harvesting will start in Shida Kartli Region in about two weeks. Farmers from the Kakheti region shared their thoughts with EastFruit, offering a mixed assessment of the season.
At the start of the season, many farmers were dissatisfied with the farmgate prices, particularly due to the lower prices for nectarines compared to the 2022 season. However, some farmers noted a better-than-expected demand compared to pre-season evaluations. Although farmers are not happy with nectarine prices, the price dynamic is different this season. In the previous season, despite high prices for nectarines at the beginning, prices sharply declined during the peak supply period.
While this season, nectarine prices began at 1.5 GEL/kg ($0.58) and have not dropped below this level. At present export quality nectarines are sold by the farmers at 1.8-2.1 GEL/kg ($0.69-0.80). Regarding peach prices, farmers did not note significant price changes in comparison to the previous season. Now farmers are selling peaches on average for 1.2 GEL/kg ($0.46). Interestingly, the price of a peach 10 days ago was a few cents higher than the price of a nectarine.
Based on monthly export data from May to July, Georgia has exported approximately 15,435 tons of peaches and nectarines, which marks a decrease of around 7% compared to the same period in 2022. These figures indicate a declining trend in export quantities since the 2021 season. Notably, August typically contributes around 30% of the total peach and nectarine exports, implying that comprehensive export data will become accessible in September.
