JUNE 13 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev officially kicked off construction of a fruit farm in the Andijan region of the Ferghana Valley, highlighting a drive by the authorities to increase exports to neighbours. Media reported that the 615-hectare project will cost $24m and be operational by the end of the year.
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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)
TBILISI, JUNE 12 2017 (The Bulletin) — Georgia’s first home-grown and home-processed olive oil is now being sold across the country, the culmination of a Turkish-inspired ambition.
In an interview with The Bulletin, George Svanidze, Georgia Olive CEO, said that he had always wanted to return from Turkey, where he lived, to develop a business in Georgia.
“We, the diaspora, wanted to bring something good, new investments to Georgia,” he said. “Our Turkish partners have three generation experience in olive oil production, so we decided to bring back this culture to our country.”
And it is this entrepreneurship, this ability to assimilate knowledge abroad and bring it home that makes the Georgian economy resilient and open, analysts have said. It has recovered quicker than its neighbours from a sharp economic downturn over the past three years.
Mr Svanidze said that he and his partners planted their first olive trees in Georgia in 2010. Since then, with the help of a government sponsored scheme called Produce in Georgia, the olive grove has grown to around 350 hectares – roughly the size of 350 rugby pitches. They have now set up a processing plant near the village of Sakobo in Kakheti.
And Mr Svanidze said that the soil quality in Georgia was superior to Italy, Turkey and Greece, the three main traditional makers of olive oil.
“We have such high-quality olives that we produce 1 litre of olive oil from 3.5kg of olives,” he said, comparing this to the usual 5kg needed.
Part of the challenge is tapping into the domestic market. Not many people cook, or eat, with olive oil, preferring to use cheaper oils from nuts.
Zura, the director of a wine shop, said as well as being more expensive, olive oil was too pungent for local palates. “I know Europeans really love it, but it’s no good for our kitchen. The taste is too strong,” he said.
But Mr Svanidze has heard this all before. “First we will take the Georgian market, after that the Trans-Caucasus market and afterwards we will export to Europe and Asia,” he said.
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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)
APRIL 19 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Spayka, an Armenian industrial and transport conglomerate with strong links to the elite, said that it intends to boost its food manufacturing department with a $70m investment in cheese-making. Specifically, Spayka said that it planned to create 300 jobs and export cheese to other countries in the South Caucasus and to Russia. Armenia is looking for ways to boost its economy after a sharp downturn in 2014-16.
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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)
MARCH 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Turkmen government has ordered shopkeepers to raise their prices by 20%, as a kind of unofficial tax to help the state pay for the Asian Indoor and Martial Art Games which it is hosting later this year, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website reported. It quoted an opposition website and also ordinary people from Ashgabat as saying prices had risen by between 20% and 50% this year on various foodstuffs.
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(News report from Issue No. 323, published on April 6 2017)
MARCH 24 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan is looking to boost the value of its fruit exports to Kazakhstan by 30% to $410m this year, media reported quoting Uzbekzokovaktovholding, the state- linked holding company. The 2017 target is an indication of the improved relations between Uzbekistan and its neighbours since Pres. Shavkat Mirziyoyev took over from Islam Karimov in September.
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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)
TBILISI, FEB. 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s National Food Agency said it had suspended operational licences for 11 meat businesses because they failed hygiene requirements set out under new rules imposed by the EU.
The suspensions show the complexities of trying to bring hygiene standards in Georgia up to EU requirements so that businesses can take advantage of a new deal brought in last year which allows Georgian companies to export directly to Europe.
The 11 business included three slaughterhouses, four meat whole- sale facilities, three catering facilities, and one farmers’ market. On top of that, 34 business operators were fined due to minor infringements.
In an interview with The Conway Bulletin, Kakha Sokhadze, deputy head food safety inspector at the National Food Agency, said many local businesses still need to adapt to the new regulations.
“Because of the obligations we have with the EU, we are increasing the number of inspections and the more you cover, the more you find cases of non-compliance. Business operators should understand that there are new rules and new requirements,” he said.
Last year the EU and Georgia signed an Association Agreement that paved the way for various producers to export goods to the EU. Georgian companies have already signed deals with European importers to send wool and honey.
And the deal with the EU is having a far-reaching impact in Georgia.
Even meat which is not being exported now has to comply with new rules aimed at boosting hygiene.
Various labelling requirements, for example, were brought in on Jan. 1.
To export to the EU, each food category needs to be certified, said Carlo Natale, deputy head of the EU’s delegation in Georgia.
“Each product is approved after several studies and measurements are made in the country of production,” he told the Conway Bulletin. “At the moment we are examining fish and its various types of process- ing. Then, we will examine dairy products. The last one will be beef and meat. They are the most difficult.”
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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)
FEB. 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The McDonald’s fast food chain has no intention of opening a restaurant in Armenia, its Europe spokesperson Sanjay Mistry said, dampening media speculation that Georgian businessman Temur Chkonia was planning to extend his McDonald’s franchise to Yerevan. In 2016 McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)
JAN. 25 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Dutch potato chip manufacturer Farm Frites is considering setting up a plant in northeast Kazakhstan, Kazakh deputy PM Askar Myrzakhmetov, Kazakh deputy PM and agriculture, said. Farm Frites supplies frozen potato chips to restaurants. A deal with Koktem Agricultural services, the company it is negotiating with, would give the Kazakh government a boost as it has said it wants to diversify away from oil and gas.
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(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)f
JAN. 24 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia has banned chicken imports from six regions of Iran because of an outbreak of bird flu, media reported. Trade between Iran and Armenia has increased rapidly over the past few years meaning that the ban will hit chicken supplies in Armenia.
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(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)f
DEC. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Israeli poultry processing company BAL International said it will build a new food chain plant in Kazakhstan. The company, which owns two factories in Israel, plans to install a new production line in the Almaty region. Its business will be mostly geared towards exports to China. The company also plans to kick-start a mutton export line from Kazakhstan to Israel. The deal was signed during Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s official visit to Astana.
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(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)f