On December 17, Salome Gelashvili, the Deputy Head of the APRC, presented a policy paper entitled “Challenges of Executing Technical Regulation of Dairy Products” to representatives of the dairy sector. The meeting was organized in the framework of the Supporting Food and Agriculture Business Support Organizations in DCFTA and SME Policy Implementation project.

The study was based on the analysis of statistical data of the dairy sector, as well as interviews with dairy producers, representatives of the National Food Agency, NGOs, business support organizations, and experts, and online surveys targeted at the consumers of dairy products. The major challenges identified by the study included:

1. A lack of control in case of non-registered family farms producing and selling dairy products;

2. Ambiguous labeling of dairy products by registered producers;

3. Low awareness level of consumers regarding regulations and requirements.

The discussion after the presentation focused on the recommendations developed by the APRC team which included:

• Stricter regulation and better incentive mechanisms for family farms

• Need for improved regulation regarding labeling of products

• Necessity for awareness-raising campaigns

• Need to develop intensive farms and support animal production in Georgia

The participants of the meeting agreed that consumers, producers, and the authorities should all work together in order to overcome these existing challenges and efficiently implement technical regulations.