On May 19, 2017, at the Radisson Blu Iveria hotel, the Agriculture Policy Research Center (APRC) of the ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI) presented two reports regarding “The Georgian Tea Value Chain Study” and “The Georgian Trout Value Chain Study” value chain analyses.

The Tea Value Chain Study assesses a variety of challenges and opportunities facing the Georgian tea sector. Plantations are over¬grown and enterprises engaged in the processing are undercapitalized. Furthermore, given the nature of global competition, it has been challenging for Georgian producers and processors to gain a foothold in both the local and international markets. Georgia is currently a net importer of tea, which is surprising consider¬ing the sector’s rich history and potential. In this study, the authors assess a variety of challenges and opportunities facing the Georgian tea sector and provide recommendations for the sector’s development.

The Trout Value Chain Study reviews the status-quo of this sector and discusses the potential development opportunities. As a freshwater resource-rich Caucasian country, Georgia is well-positioned to produce high-quality trout. It is one of the new and promising agricultural value chains for Georgia. However, the Georgian trout sector is struggling and facing a number of constraints to further development.

The event was organized by ISET under the CARE consortium as a part of the EU’s ENPARD project and, as well as the presentations themselves, also featured a panel discussion and Q&A sessions. Government officials, donors, private sector representatives (including members of tea and trout cooperatives), representatives of academia, amongst others, were all in attendance.

The reports are available online (in Georgian and English) at the following links:

Tea Value Chain Study

Trout Value Chain Study