During a visit to the talk show, 20/30, the Minister of Agriculture of Georgia, Otar Danelia, talked about the so-called Orange Harvest in details: "The main markets for citrus are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. We have new, powerful processing factories. Last year, Georgian tangerines were processed, packed and labelled with such quality that many thought them to be European. We practically have no problems in selling the production. We had problems in selling low quality tangerines which is why we put subsidies in place and the farmer gets 20 tetri for a kilogram, 10 tetri

of which is paid by the state."

FactCheck

took interest in this issue and analysed the Orange Harvest.

There has been a trend of increase in the production of tangerines since 2010 with the only exception occurring in 2014.

Table 1: 

Production of Tangerines from 2010 to 2014 (Thousand Tonnes)

Year	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Tangerines	48.6	53.1	71.1	107.1	71.8

Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia

Tangerines are being exported mainly to Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan. A total of 22,118 tonnes of tangerines were exported last year.

Chart 1:

 Exports of Tangerines by Country (2014)

Source: Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia

As the chart makes clear, the largest share of exports was destined to Russia (53% of total exports). A total of 10,636 tonnes of tangerines were processed for industrial purposes in 2014. The Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia and the Agricultural Project Management Agency started taking measures aimed at facilitating the sales of tangerines for industrial purposes on 24 November 2014. In terms of the project, companies which paid at least 20 tetri for 1 kilogram of tangerines for industrial purposes received a 10 tetri

per kilogram subsidy from the Agricultural Project Management Agency. A total of GEL 2 million was allocated from the budget for subsidising tangerines. Four companies were involved in the programme facilitating the sales of tangerines for industrial purposes in 2014. These included:  Georgian Industrial Asset Management Group, TCF Georgia, Geo-Flowers and Geo-Concentrate. About 82 transport companies were registered for exporting tangerines.

As for the current year, according to the forecasts of the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia, the estimated tangerine harvest will be equal to 100,000 tonnes. The programme aimed at facilitating tangerine sales has the same conditions with a total of GEL 2 million allocated from the budget for this purpose. The state programme will continue until 1 February 2016. At this point, three factories are processing tangerines:  Georgian Industrial Asset Management Group and TCF Georgia Ltd in Kobuleti and Geo-Flowers Ltd in the Municipality of Ambrolauri. A total of 40 packaging pavilions will be available in Ajara and Guria this year.

As of today, a total of 22,454 tonnes of tangerines have been exported. The top five export destination countries are as follows:  Russia – 80.73% (18,127 tonnes), Ukraine – 12.47% (2,800 tonnes), Armenia – 2.99% (672 tonnes), Kazakhstan – 1.81% and Azerbaijan – 0.95% (214 tonnes). A total of 6,095.3 tonnes of tangerines have been processed for industrial purposes (this number changes daily).

We contacted the Director of the GM Group processing factory, Rezo Gogitidze, to inquire about the process of the so-called Orange Harvest. According to his information, the factory will receive about 15,000 tonnes of non-standard tangerines in 2015. The factory’s processing rate is about 300 tonnes in 24 hours. A citrus concentrate will be produced which is later used to make orange juice with production destined for sale on the local market. The factory will pay 20 tetri for 1 kilogram of non-standard tangerines, 10 tetri

of which is subsidised by the state. About a hundred locals are employed in the factory.

FactCheck also asked the representative of the Municipality of Kobuleti to comment upon the issue. According to his information, a governmental headquarters has been created in Kobuleti which is tasked with ensuring that the citrus harvest is proceeding in an orderly manner. Twelve sorting and packaging factories and two processing factories are working at a full-load capacity in the municipality. The price of 1 kilogram of standard tangerines varies from 50 to 75 tetri.

The tangerines are mainly exported to Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Municipality of Kobuleti representatives expect that the harvesting process will be completed without any problems.

Conclusion According to FactCheck’s information, the so-called Orange Harvest is proceeding without any problems. A total of 22,454 tonnes of tangerines has been exported as of today. Russia tops the export destination countries with an 80.8% share. A total of 6,095.3 tonnes of tangerines have been processed for industrial purposes. The price of 1 kilogram of standard tangerines varies from 50 to 75 tetri whilst factories are buying non-standard tangerines for 20 tetri, 10 tetri of which is subsidised by the state. The so-called Orange Harvest will be completed by the end of February.