On Friday, June 5th ISET hosted Loredana Sorg, Mercator Fellow of International Affairs, who gave a presentation titled "The Georgian Hazelnut Value Chain and the Potential of Cooperatives". The objective of the study was to understand how and at which level value is added, to identify critical elements for a competitive hazelnut production in Georgia, and to reflect the potential of cooperatives for the development of the value chain and in particular for organic fair-trade hazelnuts.

According to the study, the Georgian hazelnut sector has gained both national and international attention over the last years. Different private, public and non-governmental actors have started initiatives to upgrade the Georgian hazelnut value chain for export or development goals. This talk summarized the particularities of the Georgian hazelnut value chain and findings from discussions with ETH students at a workshop at FAO in April 2015.

Ms. Sorg concluded the presentation with development possibilities and recommendations focusing on the need for improving quality both in cultivation and while trading the nuts, fostering contacts to European and Asian factories and retailers, and extending transformation processes in Georgia.

ISET would like to thank Ms. Sorg for delivering a very interesting and interactive presentation to our students and community.

Click here to download the presentation