A visit of a delegation of Ukrainian hazelnut growers to Georgia has begun, organized by the ITS project in Ukraine, to study the best Georgian practices of hazelnut cultivation, its post-harvest processing, processing, and storage.

The Ukrainian delegation included managers and specialists of well-known hazelnut orchards in Ukraine, such as the agricultural holding "GALS AGRO", "FILBERT" (Odesa region), LLC "Continent" (corporation "Agroprom Zakarpattia, Zakarpattia region), LLC "Khmelnytskyi Universal Company" (Khmelnytskyi region), LLC "HORIH POLISSYA" (Zhytomyr region), FG "NATS'EN'GARDEN" (Kyiv region), specialists of the Ukrainian Walnut Association.

The visit program includes visits to industrial gardens, procurement points and leading processing enterprises in Georgia, as well as meetings with representatives of the Georgian Hazelnut Processors and Exporters Association (HEPA), the Georgian Hazelnut Producers Association (GHGA), and the Union of Hazelnut Farmers of Georgia.

Georgia's hazelnut debut as one of the leading players in the global nut market has long been a reality.

And today, hazelnuts are one of the main export items of Georgia, which is among the five largest world exporters. And according to official data from the world association INC (International Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation), based on five-year exports, Georgia has risen to the 4th place in the world hazelnut export (the first three places are steadily occupied by Turkey, the USA, and Italy).

The program of the first working day began with a visit to one of the large hazelnut enterprises - AgriGeorgia LLC.

AgriGeorgia, founded in 2007, is part of the Ferrero Group and today owns 600 hectares of hazelnut orchards. But in addition to its own hazelnuts, AgriGeorgia purchases hazelnuts from local partner farmers. The company owns and operates a modern drying and cleaning plant for hazelnut processing. AgriGeorgia LLC specialists showed their own fifteen-year-old hazelnut orchards, spoke in detail about the technology of processing them, about the organization of harvesting and further processing, storage and export.

The next company visited by the Ukrainian delegation was Geo Nuts LLC. The founder of this enterprise, Jener Belkania, a man known not only in Georgia but far beyond its borders, was very pleased to show his hazelnut orchards, which he has 200 hectares of, and also gladly showed his hazelnut processing plant.

Jener, or Jackie in common parlance, has been processing hazelnuts for over fifteen years and has a wealth of experience combined with professional knowledge. “This is the second and more advanced hazelnut processing plant I have built,” says Jackie.

The enterprise is quite large: during the year, the enterprise can process up to 700 - 1000 tons of hazelnuts and produce various types of products (roasted, crushed, ground).

The products are fully intended for export, the enterprise has implemented the international food safety standard BRC Global Standard, ISO 22000, and others.

The Ukrainian delegation was accompanied throughout the day, provided with additional explanations and consultations by the Executive Director of the Georgian Hazelnut Processors and Exporters Association (HEPA) Levan Kardava, ITS International Consultant James Fitzpatrick, and ITS Project Specialist in Ukraine Hanna Syrchina.

The first day of visiting Georgian enterprises was extremely rich in the knowledge and experience that is needed today for the young hazelnut industry, which is dynamically developing in Ukraine.

President of the Ukrainian Walnut Association G. Yudin

Georgia, Zugdidi.