Selling fresh figs outside the local market has become quite popular in Georgia over the past three years. The year 2022 is notable as export revenue surpassed the $1 million mark; a new, all-time high.
Georgia exported 890 tons of figs in July-August 2022. That makes it the highest income this year, at $1.2 million, which was due to a price spike. Export prices jumped 40% from $1.00/kg in 2021 to a record high of $1.40/kg in 2022.
Rising export prices are both good news and bad news in the current context of high energy prices, the war in Ukraine and global economic instability. The good news is that despite the sudden jump in fig prices, export volumes have remained strong. This means that the demand for figs is somewhat high. The rise in prices has certainly led to higher revenues, but much of the rise in prices must be due to higher production and transport costs. Which of course significantly limits the growth of profits.
The export destinations of Georgian fresh figs are Russia and Armenia. This year, 60% of exported figs went to Armenia, 40% to Russia. It should be noted that the share of the Russian Federation almost doubled compared to 2021.
Source: east-fruit.com