BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 23
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgian aquaculture has great potential, therefore, the country's authorities will actively promote the development of this industry, Trend reports via the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia.
Minister of Agriculture Levan Davitashvili, together with the director of the Rural Development Agency Ilia Tamarashvili, got acquainted with the work process at the enterprise for the production of oysters and mussels - "Mariculture Georgia".
The company combines two facilities - an offshore farm with a processing plant in Adjara and a shock freeze facility in Tbilisi. The company took advantage of preferential agricultural loans to set up an offshore farm and processing plant. State funding amounted to 470,000 lari ($136,544).
"Georgia has great potential in terms of the development of both aquaculture and mariculture. This potential must be maximized, for which the state has taken important steps in 2020. Legislation has been prepared, which has already entered into force and will contribute to the development of this area in the country. "Mariculture Georgia" has taken the first steps, and in practice a successful example has already appeared," Davitashvili said.
The underwater farm, where cultivation of seafood is carried out, was launched in 2020 near the village of Kvariati in the Black Sea region of Adjara.
The underwater oyster and mussel farm occupies 70 hectares of sea area. Its yield per season is 30 tons of mussels and 10-15 tons of oysters.
Live products are sold from May to October. During the rest of the year, the company offers the consumer products frozen by the shock method. The company sells its products to the local market. Exports are also planned abroad. There is already an interest in Georgian mussels and oysters in Azerbaijan, Russia, Hong Kong, Canada and Ukraine.
"For such successful production to expand, it is necessary to continue state support and promotion. As in other areas of agriculture, we will have an integrated approach to the development of aquaculture and mariculture. We will have an integrated approach that provides support for all links in the chain and implies development both primary and savings and processing industries, the creation of infrastructure and, of course, the exchange of knowledge," said the head of the Ministry of Agriculture.
To increase seafood production, the company also plans to purchase a special ship with government assistance.
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