Kakheti olives is a Klondike for business, an economic miracle for Georgia

By investing in olives, Georgia not only eliminates the need to buy export goods by its own citizens, but also plays the card of tomorrow. When the Mediterranean farmers no longer have unoccupied land, Kakheti, with its potential and well-established production, will become particularly attractive. It can be said that today olives in Georgia are more than just a food product. This is a real trump card for the country's economy, and in the near future it will definitely play its role.

Georgia is preparing to make a rapid breakthrough to the international markets of olives and olive oil. Thanks to the support of the government of the country, the production of this culture reaches a level that will allow Georgia to occupy a serious niche among the leaders of this industry.

The center of olives cultivation was Kakheti, where the culture of their growing has been preserved since the Middle Ages, and today it is being revived using advanced agricultural technologies. According to experts, this will not only strengthen the economy of Georgia, but also attract strategic investments to the country. And this process is already underway.

Why do businessmen invest in Georgian olives grown in Kakheti, and why is this region promising today?

Not by cuisine alone

To understand the situation, it is enough to analyze the reports of reputable international institutions specializing in agriculture.

Within 2010 – 2018, the consumption of olive oil in the world has increased from 14 to 22 kg per person, and in the next five years an increase up to 28-30 kg is expected. The reason for this, according to experts, lies in the growth of the purchasing power of the population, since the main consumers are citizens from countries with sustainable economies. The natural increase in the world's population, which is about 75 million people a year, also has a significant effect.

Finally, one of the key factors in the growth of sales of olive oil is its active positioning as a key part of the diet of healthy nutrition and healthy lifestyle in general. It is curious, by the way, that with the words “long-liver” and “healthy nutrition” many people immediately recall the Mediterranean region and ... yes, Georgia.

Today, olives are used not only in gastronomy, but also in medicine – as a component of drugs for lowering blood pressure and in the treatment of peptic ulcer. Olive oil contain creams and ointments to protect the skin from burns. And especially this culture is important in the production of creams for children.

Olives from Georgia, there is space to grow

In short, the range of application of olives is wide, but the reserve for increasing their production is not so great. Today, the volume of olive oil production in the world goes in a sine wave – since 2010 there have been drops in its production by 20% and increase by 14%. Various factors played a role here, including drought in the leading olive oil producing countries. On average, the volume of production is maintained at the level of 2.6–3.3 million tons per year. According to the official data of the International Olive Oil Council (IOC), the world production of olive oil in 2017-18 amounted to about 3, 311,500 tons, which is 725,000 tons more compared to 2016-17.

Why investments in Georgian olive plantations have perspective

Here lies one of the advantages of Kakheti in the production of olive oil. The most effective tool for increasing production is the expansion of space. But in Spain, Italy or Greece, that lead in this niche, the potential for increasing the area is extremely low, whereas in Kakheti and Georgia the reserve is for decades.

In other words, by investing in olives, Georgia not only eliminates the need to buy export goods by its own citizens, but also plays the card of tomorrow. When the Mediterranean farmers no longer have unoccupied land, Kakheti, with its potential and well-established production, will become particularly attractive. It can be said that today olives in Georgia are more than just a food product. This is a real trump card for the country's economy, and in the near future it will definitely play its role.