ISET

ISET Economist Blog

A blog about economics in the South Caucasus.
Dec
25

Is Less, More? On “Usakhelauri” Wine

  This summer I bought a small piece of land (0.15ha) in the village of Okhureshi to grow a vineyard. About 700 “Usakhelauri” vine seedlings planted on that land in November this year will soon provide the most scarce and expensive grapes in Georgia. In just in a couple of years the vines will mature, and I will enjoy something as nice as the neighboring vineyard depicted in the photo. NO NAME… Usakhelauri is an ancient red-wine grape variety unique to Georgia. The grapes are cultivated in just a couple of villages in the Lechkhumi region (West Geor...
Rate this blog entry:
Recent Comments
Florian Biermann
Lets hope that somebody is willing to pay such extraordinarily high prices for the wine you grow!
Wednesday, 03 January 2018 3:03 PM
Guest — giaruouballantines
All my life I’ve avoided Europe and it’s multitudes of terribleness, but it turns out, much to my surprise there is actually one p... Read More
Tuesday, 13 November 2018 5:05 AM
Continue reading
2133
2 Comments
Write a Comment
Nov
20

Asian Invasion: Stink Bug in Georgia

Nikoloz M., 65, from the Imeretian village of Jikhaishi, invested around 15,000 GEL into his 8.5 ha hazelnut orchard in 2012, hoping that one day his initiative would turn into a profitable business. Nikoloz was on his way to success up until this year, before the stink bug, or Asian pharosana, as Georgians call it, appeared in his orchard. While Nikoloz expected to harvest 800 kg – 1000 kg of hazelnuts per ha, the stink bug infestation reduced his harvest by 30-35%, resulting in a loss of more than 1,000 GEL per ha. For a rural household with average an...
Rate this blog entry:
Continue reading
2589
0 Comments
Write a Comment
Oct
16

Strong Leader = Successful Team?!

The cooperative movement in Georgia started back in 2013 with EU support, through the launching of the ENPARD project, a major component of which is the development of agricultural cooperatives across Georgia. According to the Agricultural Cooperatives Development Agency, there are 1,500 agricultural cooperatives in Georgia, and more than 250 of them have been supported by the ENPARD program (for locations of these cooperatives see the map). Not all those newborn cooperatives will be successful, and their sustainability depends on many factors. THE THEOR...
Rate this blog entry:
Recent comment in this post
Guest — MartinSmith
Congratulations on maintaining perfect command of English! The problem here is lack of vividness and urgency in the writing; lack ... Read More
Thursday, 19 October 2017 8:08 AM
Continue reading
2116
1 Comment
Write a Comment
Jul
03

Georgian Wool: Can It Become the “Golden Fleece” Again?

Back in 2014, Georgia and the European Union (EU) signed an Association Agreement, which included the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) between the EU and Georgia. While this agreement creates new opportunities for Georgia’s agricultural exports, high food safety standards in the EU market make it difficult to fully utilize these opportunities. This is particularly true for products of animal origin, which are subject to strict regulations. The necessary standards were successfully met last year for Georgian wool (fleece), and it became the ...
Rate this blog entry:
Continue reading
2987
0 Comments
Write a Comment

Our Partners