BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 15
By Tamilla Mamedova - Trend:
Georgia stops importing kiwano melon, Trend reports via the EastFruit portal.
Loladze Farm grows exotic fruits and it has partially replaced its import counterparts in the Georgian market.
Loladze Farm is located in the town of Lagodekhi in the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia. For the last 6 years, the farm has been focusing on the production of exotic fruits, which now include mini-kiwi, okra, pepino, kiwano, physalis, and black corn. The farm’s products are sold in Georgian supermarket chains, including AgroHub and Goodwill.
“After we started producing kiwano, imports of this fruit to Georgia completely stopped. The reason is that the imported products were no longer for sale. Naturally, in their case, the transportation costs were quite high, therefore, they could not compete with us in price,” said Lasha Loladze, one of the founders of the company.
Loladze points out that Georgians are conservative and acceptance of innovations is hard, which also applies to exotic fruits.
“When zucchini first entered the market, it was difficult to sell for several years. It takes time to get used to everything here,” he said.
In 2021, Loladze Farm does not plan to further expand its range of agricultural crops.
Instead, it will focus on the development of a culinary line of tortillas made from black corn flour, which the farm began growing last year.
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